Meet HRP-2P – let’s call him Harry shall we? – the latest in a long line of prototype Japanese robots designed to amuse and enthrall us (and eventually take over the world – muhaahahahaha!).

His main claims to fame are that he’s taller than yer average at around 5 foot, and that he has no bulky electronics backpack which most of the alternatives sport.

I suppose that this makes him a lean, mean, stumbling machine. Go Harry! [via japaninc]

And just in case you were wondering exactly why the Japanese seem so interested in robots all of a sudden, this article outlining the development of the PaPeRo ‘home companion’ robot for the elderly may offer a few pointers.