Hong Kong-based technology firm set to offer Barbie-like robots by year's end
HK-based firm to market 'smart Barbie' by year's end for less than an iPad

Picture this: a Barbie-like doll that is no longer just pretty and plastic but winks and smiles at you when you are depressed, and perhaps teaches you English and even gives you health tips.
This isn't a plot for the next sci-fi blockbuster. It is the latest invention from Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics that is expected to be available this Christmas.
"It's your personal companion … just like your little friend," Jong Lee, CEO of Hanson Robotics, told the South China Morning Post.
Speaking at the recent Pioneers Festival in Vienna, Austria - an annual two-day conference for start-ups, entrepreneurs and investors - Lee said the small personal robots would be the tech firm's new focus following the invention of a robotic head called Han, which resembles a European male, and Eva, which appears to be a half-Asian female. They were presented recently in Beijing by inventor and company founder David Hanson.
The company has made more than 40 robots over the past decade and designed over 12 robotic "heads".
Lee said the small personal robots would be powered by smartphone apps to be developed on the open market. He expected apps would be available for education, health and even a personal secretary resembling Apple's intelligent personal assistant software Siri.
"It's a 'smart Barbie' - it's warm and friendly, a 'Barbie' that can look at you and show care, and look concerned if you are not doing well. It's a relationship-building friend."