The Banryu home robot ("banryu" literally means "guard-dragon") from tmsuk and Sanyo Electric is the latest thing in home robotic defense. The Banryu guard-dragon moves on all fours through your home, keeping an eye on things.
(Banryu Guard Dragon Home Robot Youtube Video
Note: only the first two minutes concerns the robot.)
Not only can Banryu keep a look-out, it can also sniff the air. If it detects motion or the smell of burning objects, it can immediately call your cellphone to let you know and show you the problem.
Banryu can confidently negotiate even cluttered home environments, climbing over gaps of up to ten centimeters. It can even chase extremely slow burglars, moving at speeds of up to fifteen meters per minute.
Update 05-Jul-2008: See this early reference to a guard robot in Philip K. Dick's 1955 short story The Hood Maker (also found under the name Immunity). End update
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