Just outside of Tokyo, there's a company called Little Island, run by Hiroaki Koike, that specializes in fashioning robotic dolls after the likenesses of real people. These dolls are surprisingly complex, with the ability to talk, react to touch and perform a variety of different movements, such as nodding and waving. So what would you want one for? One example would be the company's popular bride model — a couple could order a doll of the bride and use it as a robotic greeter for people coming to their wedding. It's hard to think "Japan" and "robotic doll" and not be creeped out, but these cutesy automatons seem harmless enough.

The dolls take the company about six months to produce, and the more information offered makes the dolls that much more realistic. Pricing is determined on a case by case basis, but, if you want one, Little Island just recently opened itself up to English clients.

Little Island, via Robot Dreams, via Botropolis