Robotic roundup at CES 2011

Perhaps overshadowed by ten jillion tablets, 3D TVs and Motorola’s Atrix, robots were also at CES, many of course from Japan and in their own TechZone. Many had something to do with cleaning, but these had applicability to healthcare: Israeli company DreamBots with their WheeMe robotic masseur that won’t fall off your back–at $69 may be next Christmas’ hit item; iRobot’s AVA self-navigating, tablet-controlled droid; Pleo RB, the cuddly dinosaur with a personality that evolves with human interaction and even knows to shiver in a cold room; the Anybot telepresence droid with a laser pointer (keep away from airports); Soft Robots from Quality of Life Technology Center to assist with activities of daily living such as feeding, dressing and transfer; and Autom, the googly-eyed robot diet mentor who tells you if you’ve been dieting or splurging. PARO, our cuddly and vocal harp seal, was also there but wandered off from this roundup. TechRepublic rounds up the robots for you.