The Paro (made by AIST, a Japanese research agency) is shaped like a baby seal and responds to attention.

ECONOMIST: Schumpeter

Produced by Nanolux, an arm of AIST, the camera uses a series of algorithms to read and process wavelengths reflected by objects lit with infrareds, allowing it to successfully reproduce reds, blues, and greens in the darkest of conditions.

ENGADGET: AIST shows off full-color night vision camera, well lit Bullwinkle figurine (video)

You might know them for seemingly ridiculous innovations like Segway shoes or the HRP-4C pop star robot, but the folks at AIST have put away the gimmicks for their latest invention -- a full-color night vision camera.

ENGADGET: AIST shows off full-color night vision camera, well lit Bullwinkle figurine (video)

Such an invention could have serious implications for fields like surveillance and wildlife observation, but fear not, AIST hasn't lost its sense of humor -- the company used a Bullwinkle figurine rotating on a Lazy Susan to demo its latest invention at Printable Electronics 2011.

ENGADGET: AIST shows off full-color night vision camera, well lit Bullwinkle figurine (video)

The first of those took place last July, when Abderrahmane Kheddar, director of the CNRS-AIST joint robotics laboratory at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Tsukuba, Japan, and his team used FMRI to allow someone to control a robot located thousands of miles away using only their thoughts.

FORBES: The Robots Are Coming (and they seem to be revolutionizing healthcare, agriculture and education along the way)!