Another robotic vacuum cleaner is about to hit the market courtesy of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp. 

On May 8th, Sharp Electronics announced that it was making its new Cocorobo product available in Japan beginning in June, to be joined by China and other Asian nations in the following months. 

A US and European launch is still in the planning stages according to Sharp, with no release date given.  The announcement can be found, although it suffers badly from the Chinese menu translation problem thanks to Google Translate.  The gadget press were all over the announcement. What the postings lacked in depth, they made up for with enthusiasm (“plucky robot that jabbers”, “clean from the comfort of your sofa!”).