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　　Two-legged, humanoid(类人的)robots such as Honda Motor Co．Ltd’s ASIMO would likely have an easier time climbing up stairs inside homes than a robot that moves on wheels, developers say．

　　But it will be some time before such devices make their way into people’s homes．

　　“They may look smart, but they are still quite stupid,”Shimoyama said．“I don’t think they will ever be as smart as humans．”

　　While safety is an obvious concern, robots also need to be sensitive to people’s needs．

　　Researchers at Fujitsu Frontech Ltd and Fujitsu Laboratories responsible for developing“Enon”, a guide and patrol(巡逻)robot designed for use in shopping malls and corporate facilities(公共场所), are working on this．

　　Enon, which has a humanoid upper body but no legs, is equipped with a touch screen on its chest and space in its belly to carry loads weighting up to 10 kg．

　　In guide mode, it will detect a newcomer and approach the person with a nod and a greeting：“Are you a visitor?Hello．”

　　Visitors requiring directions can point to icons(图标)displayed on Enon’s chest screen．If the restroom icon is pressed, the screen will display a map that shows the way．

　　The robot will then face and point in the direction of the restroom, although it won’t actually walk the visitor there．

　　Enon is now in use at four locations in Japan, including a shopping mall near Tokyo．The main goal is to make it more helpful for the elderly．

　　“People who work in the transportation sector often ask whether we can build a robot that will find elderly people who look lost in train stations, and ask them if they are all right,”said Toshihido Marita, director of Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd’s autonomous system laboratory．“Actually that is hard to do, very hard,”he said．