We always figured this day would come, but so soon? We're obsolete, ladies and gentlemen. It's been a great ride, and we're glad we got to do just one more Stevenote with y'all before we fade into the night, but the robots have arrived, and they're going to blog harder, better, faster and stronger. We cannot compete. Bandai just announced the Net Tansor Web, a WiFi-equipped robot with a built-in camera for snapping his soon-to-be-award-winning exposés and posting them to the web at regular intervals alongside witty commentary. The bot can react to reader comments like "a little to the right," or "you suck, why don't you just call it Applegadget?" and adjust accordingly. Net Tansor also can handle live video, reads RSS feeds out loud and knows no fatigue. Bandai's going to be selling this for 50,000 Yen (about $490 US) whenever it's ready.

The characters over at RobotsRule managed to snag one of the rare review units of the new Elmo Live!, and according to them, the standard order they placed last week has already been canceled by Toys R Us. In other words, this hands-on video review really may be as close as you get to this intelligent ball of fur without forking out wads of cash. Based on the four minutes we get to share with Fisher-Price's latest cash, um, cow, it's easy to see how crazy awesome this thing will seem to your youngster. He recognizes when he has fallen over and begs for help, he goes bonkers when you squeeze his nose and he tells stories and jokes while moving in a fashion that's more "lifelike" than ever. Heck, it even puts itself to sleep to save batteries should your youngin' get called away for chores. All that aside, the best part is Elmo's attempt to bust rhymes, scat and get your kid jumpin' -- seriously, check it out at the 1:15 mark after the break.

[Via RobotsRule]

We've enjoyed watching KIST's Hubo do crazy things like wear the face of Albert Einstein and ride a Segway, but we haven't given as much attention to its brother Mahru. Feeling left out, the biped learned to dance with its upper body whilst walking around -- an impressive feat, considering it wasn't all that long ago that scientists first managed to get these things to take five steps without falling flat on their faces. Mahru also releases scents to express its artificial emotions, so you should be able to smell something fishy when it achieves sentience and begins angrily plotting to destroy its creators. Take a gander at a South Korean TV news report after the break.

After the whole Tickle Me Elmo craze a few years back, you just knew Fisher-Price was going to ride this wave until it simply couldn't stay afloat any longer. Elmo Live!, hailed as the "most innovative and engaging Elmo toy ever," will officially hit store shelves tomorrow (October 14th) for $59.99, though we suspect the first batch will be snapped up in no time flat. Of course, those of you intent on retaining your sanity probably pre-ordered a few months back, but for everyone else, your battle to get one of this year's hottest holiday gifts starts in under 24 hours. For those wondering what's so special about this fellow, he supposedly tells jokes and makes movements that "give kids the feeling that Elmo is alive in their own homes." Whether that's really a good thing, however, is totally up to you.

Playskool's Kota the Triceratops is a robot dinosaur that uses 11 sensors to respond to touch and sound by wiggling its horns, wagging its tail and turning its head. It also plays a few "adventure themed songs." Best of all, it can't stampede or impale anyone; like the animatronic Triceratops in Jurassic Park, Kota can't get up and move around. That won't stop kids from adoring it though. Like Pleo before it, Kota's cuteness overpowers all. Don't believe us? Shipments have begun, so you can buy the cuddly robot and see for yourself. All you need is 300 bucks. Or you could just check out the video beyond the cut.

If you'll recall, Tsukuba University professor Yoshiyuki Sankai designed a robotic suit called HAL-5 a few years ago. Production of this handicap-overcomer began back in 2006, and as promised, manufacturer Cyberdyne (not to be confused with Cyberdyne Systems, best known for its genocidal Skynet AI and army of Terminator robots) is finally ready to crank it out in large numbers. Starting this Friday, HAL will be available for rent in Japan at the modest rate of $2,200 per month. Sankai hopes it will prove useful to the elderly and folks with disabilities by providing super-strength mechanical assistance when they send brain signals to move their limbs. HAL may be used for good but it won't be used for awesome; Sankai has turned down military-types who've expressed interest.

[Thanks, Evan]

WowWee goes out of its way to make one thing very clear about the Rovio: "this is not a toy." That being said, it doesn't make the patrolling sentry any less fantastic, as critics over at Robots-Dreams proclaimed that it was "intuitive and a pleasure to use from the moment you first open the box." From the painless setup process to the unparalleled mobility, reviewers sounded like they were grinning from ear-to-ear during the entire writeup process. It performed its robotic sentry duties with vigor and valor, and the review crew couldn't help but note that this bugger was "positioned to be the hottest robot for the upcoming holiday season, and for a long time to come." In other words, if you've been on the fence about dropping three bills on this thing, all your worries about it potentially sucking just got thrashed.

You know those insect-like micro air vehicles (MAV) we've been seeing? Well, the ExoFly aerobot is based on that camera-equipped DelFly design, only this time it's gearing up for a trip to Mars -- maybe even Titan or Venus. Turns out flapping-wing flight is perfect for the low-density Martian atmosphere. The current prototype -- weighing 17g with a wingspan of 350mm and flight time of twelve minutes -- is being tweaked for use in future missions to Mars. The folks at Delft University of Technology and Wageningen University, who've teamed up with Ursa Minor Space & Navigation, plan on increasing the weight to 20g and adding an on-board solar cell, which they reckon should extend the flight distance to 15km. There's also talk of using the digital terrain and image data gathered to simulate a 3D immersive environment for detailed analysis of extraterrestrial destinations -- hopefully viewable by those of us who don't have the billions to drop on a flight to Mars.

[Via New Scientist Space]

Leaps and bounds have been made with Sylvain Calinon's robotic portrait artist since we first caught a glimpse of this amazing AI being -- and no, we're not just referring to the stylish beret and mustache. Now dubbed "Salvador DaBot", the portraitist has developed far more advanced conversation skills, along with a voice that sounds a lot less like Steven Hawking. We kinda miss that feather pen he was sporting before, but his movement's a lot more natural now and his new marker seems to have helped his drawing style -- similar to old-school comic art. See this awesome little guy in action after the break.

[Via Sylvain Calinon]

Look National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, we understand this is your first walking, bi-pedal robot -- but why the peel-away face? Just slap in some big manga eyes and button-mouth and we might be able to sleep at night. But no, you show up at the Taipei International Invention Show with this creepoid, capable of singing via synthesizer and walking 2-meters in a straight line -- presumably in preparation to celebrate our demise.