With all these award ceremonies going down to close out the year, it's only appropriate to crown a few winners in the robotic realm as well -- you know, since they'll be law-abiding citizens someday. The Robot Awards were set up earlier this year by the Japanese government to "promote research and development in the robotics industry," and just ten creations took home prizes out of the 152 entries. The cream of the crop started with the currently-available My Spoon feeding contraption, which helps the elderly and disabled to eat with a "joystick-controlled swiveling arm." Not far behind was the Paro seal, who rocks a furry, huggable outfit with sensors beneath its whiskers that allows it to "open and close its eyes and move its flippers" when petted and held by folks in hospitals. In another instance of "robots replacing human jobs," a "mammoth, automated vacuum cleaner that uses elevators to travel between floors" was highly praised for its sucky actions. So if you're interested in seeing what other bots are taking home the jewelry (as well as the how to enter yourself in the future), be sure to hit the read link and bust out your broken translator, um, translator.

[Via Yahoo]

We're not usually proponents of films with titles like "Mechanical Love," but we suppose we'll make an exception for an upcoming documentary starring a robotic seal. The movie features Paro, a therapeutic robo pet from Japan that has been named the world's most soothing robot by the Guinness Book of World Records. "Mechanical Love" might make movie history merely by not having its main robot character attempt world domination, and instead featuring Paro in his natural habitat: helping Alzheimer's patients and others in need of a furry friend at a nursing facility. We can't say it'll pack 'em into overpriced theater seats, but we're still excited for our robotic pals finally getting an even chance in the movies.

[Via Robot Gossip]