Yeah, yeah, I admit; there are times when I'm engrossed in front of the computer so much, my jaws tighten due to lack of use. But even geeks like us need someone (or something) to listen to us, um, right? The Hitachi EMIEW2 humanoid robot is the second version of the EMIEW which was introduced last 2005. The EMIEW2 is fitted with 14 microphones on its head which can recognize and distinguish up to three different voices speaking simultaneously. I don't reckon it can converse with a human fluently yet, although it's already possible through the use of a server machine.

Compared to version 1, the EMIEW2 only weighs 13kg, much lighter than the 70kg weight of the EMIEW. According to Hitachi, the robot was designed to be lighter than 15kg which is the considerable weight of any object that can be lifted by an average office worker. I guess that means it's designed to be a companion of lonely Japanese salarymen and office ladies, but hey, even tech bloggers can get 'em, right? Unfortunately, there are no plans to publicly release the robot for now. Even if there are, the 80 cm tall robot would be priced "lower than that of a luxury car," which I don't think would mean it's something the Average Joe could afford.