Early 2000s robot toys like Sony's Aibo, Robosapien, and dancing iPod speaker-robots were friendly, fun, and beloved by consumers, reflecting an optimistic vision of robots popularized by films like ...

The modern robot is more likely to look like a vacuum cleaner than, say, RoboCop. But if you want your robot to climb stairs, bring you a drink, or shake it to "Dostana," it's probably going to at ...