Toyota said Monday it will start selling a mug-sized robot called Kirobo Mini as a chatty companion for its human owners. The 10 centimetre (four inch) tall robot will go on sale next year in Japan for 39,800 yen ($400) after a bigger version of the doe-eyed Kirobo -- roughly the size of a chihuahua -- became the first android to converse with an astronaut in space. Toyota is usually associated with cars, but it has been investing millions in robotics and Kirobo is its first commercial foray into the sector.



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