Toyota's non-motor company has unveiled a doe-eyed, palm-sized robot named Kirobo Mini as an artificial baby companion in Japan, where the falling birth rate has left many women childless. The venture aims to tap a demographic trend that puts Japan at the forefront of ageing industrial nations with a population decline unprecedented for a country not hit by war, famine or disease."He wobbles a bit, and this is meant to emulate a seated baby, which hasn't fully developed the skills to balance itself," said Fuminori Kataoka, Kirobo Mini's chief design engineer."This vulnerability is meant to invoke an emotional connection."Toyota plans to sell Kirobo Mini, which blinks its eyes and speaks with a high-pitched, babyish voice, for ¥39800 (about R5174) in Japan next year. It comes with a "cradle" doubling as a baby seat to fit car cup holders.The Toyota baby automaton joins a growing list of companion robots, such as the coming Jibo, designed by robotics experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to resemble a swivel lamp, and Paro, a robot baby seal marketed by Japanese company Intelligent System to soothe dementia sufferers.Japan's social services are under strain with a dearth of care workers and about 25% of the population over 65.Japan is reluctant to bolster its working-age population with immigrants so its government looks to robots to replenish the thinning ranks of humans.Official figures show the birth rate halved to about a million a year in the past 50 years. One in 10 women never marry. Births out of wedlock are frowned on in Japan and are far less common than in Western developed nations.Second only to South Korea, Japan has 314 industrial robots for every 100000 employees, according to the International Federation of Robots.Technology to help them better interact with humans means robots are moving into homes, offices, shops and hospitals.Kataoka said Toyota sees Kirobo Mini as a stepping stone to more advanced robots able to recognise and react to human emotions. ..