JUST WAIT A FEW YEARS AND ONE WOULD BE ABLE TO GET RID of manpower crunch to work in one's home or even business establishments such as factories, hospitals, and even all around the town. No, no, it's not the Indian government's plan as the good news emanates from Japan where Toyota Motor Corporation has announced that it's humanoid and other advanced robots can soon be put to practical use soon after 2010 to help people around the globe.

Toyota has unveiled two new robots called the "mobility robot" and the "violin-playing robot", and Japan's biggest car maker plans to step up the research and development (R&D) in the field of robotics. The auto major is not alone in the field as rival Honda Motor Company and others from academia are racing to build smart robots to serve the elderly in a country where 40 % of the population is expected to be over 65 by 2055.

Toyota will use the next 2-3 years to put the robots to extreme test condi¬tions through trial applications and also looking at the financial viability of making the technology commerciaL . The company is working hard to advance the robot's dexterity and flexibility further so as to enable robots to handle delicate nursing and medical care tasks in a hospital and even the household chores.

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Toyota's new "mobility robot" is an intelligent wheelchair that can even operate efficiently on uneven ground and obstacles, and can even be remotely controlled to go to a person's bedside. This wheelchair robot can also follow a person at a measured pace, functioning as a porter, and has wheels that swivel at an angle to keep the seat level when going over bumps or up a hill. Whereas, the other model known as "Partner Robot" is programmed to help people in domestic duties, nursing and medical care, manufacturing, and short-distance personal transport.