In the 1950s, Astro Boy drew on his 100,000 horsepower and hip-mounted machineguns to fight evil-doers. Despite his supposed April 7, 2003, birthday, however, the creation of robots the likes of Astro will probably remain a superhero pipe dream forever.
This hasn't stopped companies like Sony and Honda from throwing big bucks behind the production of humanoid robots. But skeptics wonder what the expensive contraptions can really offer consumers.
And their competitors are meanwhile already cashing in on more down-to-earth mobile machines they hope will become as ubiquitous as TVs and heated toilet seats.