A walking, talking robot for price of luxury car

A human-shaped robot, set to go on sale later this year, remembers people’s faces, dances disco steps and even sings - but it’s an expensive toy that Sony say will cost as much as a luxury car.

The Tokyo-based electronics giant refused to say more about its sales plans for the silver, round-eyed SDR-4X, that made its public debut today.

‘‘This robot was designed to live with people in homes,’’ said Sony Corporate Executive Vice President Toshitada Doi.

The SDR-4X has sensors on the bottom of its feet so it can walk on carpets and other uneven surfaces, and it even knows how to get back on its feet if it takes a spill, Doi said.

An upgraded version of a humanoid robot unveiled by Sony about a year ago, the neat two ft tall SDR-4X is equipped with two cameras allowing it to see better than its predecessor.

It can tell the difference between the edge of a table and patterns on the floor - a distinction that’s hard to make for Sony’s puppy-shaped robot Aibo, which has only one camera ‘‘eye.’’

The SDR-4X will be considerably more expensive than the Aibo, which sells for £1,000 in Japan - though Sony executives declined to talk numbers at today’s Tokyo launch.

‘‘This robot will cost as much as one car, a luxury car,’’ Doi said.

The SDR-4X can carry on simple conversations - it knows about 60,000 words - dodge obstacles in its path and be taught to sing by inputting music and lyrics. It can also be programmed to recognise faces, voices and names.

In a demonstration, robots sang in four-part harmony, shaking its hips and waving its arms in tempo. In another demonstration, a robot balanced itself on a surfboard that tilted in various angles.

Sony is just one of several Japanese companies beefing up their robot divisions. Entertainment robots have grown into a fad in gadget-loving Japan, and toy makers are coming out with cheaper imitations.