Japanese Store Selling Custom-Made Robots That Look Like Their Owners

Japanese robotic company Kokoro will be manufacturing the customized robots. Kokoro also makes "actroids," like that shown here. Credit: Kokoro.

(PhysOrg.com) -- Department store competition is fierce in Japan during the winter holidays, with every store trying to come up with the most attention-catching promotional campaign. This year, the department store Sogo & Seibu may top them all with its offer of robots that are custom-made to look just like their owners.

The robotic doppelgangers will be life-size humanoids that can even speak with a real person's (recorded) voice. Made of silicone, the robots will be able to move their upper bodies, although there are not many other details on their design or what they can or cannot do.

With a price of $225,000 per robot, Sogo & Seibu isn't sure how many buyers they'll actually have. Currently, the company plans to offer just two robots, and if there are more than two interested buyers, Sogo & Seibu will have a lottery to choose two winners.

The robots will be manufactured by the Japanese robotic company Kokoro, which is known for its realistic robotic androids. One of Kokoro's "actroid" robots appeared in a Japanese TV commercial last year (pictured above).