Will robot babies be a part of future homestudies? I hear that "hmpf," but hold on a sec before you click off to read something else.

In 1999, Sony introduced AIBO... the robot dog. Remember him? He went through generational upgrades and from what I understand, more than half a million were sold. (There was even some question as to whether pet therapy, which has helped both the elderly and children and adults with challenges, could be as effective with a robot dog as it is with a live pet.)

An easy leap from robot dog to robot human, in 2002, Sony announced plans to market (for a cool $60,000 or so) a child-like robot, and in 2003, QRIO made his (its?) debut in Paris. (On a sad note, AIBO is being euthanized and Sony is going out of the robots-for-entertainment business in order to strengthen its financial position.)

So, the interactive technology is there. Now let's take it a step further, for the "realism" we crave...

Take a look at BabySIM - combining computer chips, real-life bodily functions, and the baby doll appearance ... carrying a pricetag of somewhere around $50,000. BabySIM is currently being used to train medical students, but how far a leap is it from hospital to home? BabySIM has all kinds of accurate physical attributes - and from what I can see, does everything but poop (he/she does pee, drool, tear up, and can actually "die" if given the wrong treatment).

So, the interactive technology AND the baby appearance and at least some bodily functions are there.

Think it will be long before someone puts them together?

If you're a fan of science fiction (I am), you may already know where this is leading. In 2004, a movie came out called "Robot Stories." It was a collection of four vignettes about robot things... and one, "My Robot Baby", is about a couple who want to adopt. They're given a robot baby that will record all their actions and interactions and report back to the adoption agency... the idea being that if they pass the robot test, they can adopt a child.

Now, imagine that the robot baby actually looks like a baby.

Science fiction... right? Possibly so...

I think I have too much time on my hands...