It was a deep wound for a society where humanoid robots cling tightly to the cultural core. The bankrupted company, Systec Akazawa, was no run-of-the-mill robot-maker but the creator of Plen, an adored 23cm-high bipedal automaton with numerous international sporting victories to his name.

The astonishing profile of the diminutive robot arises from his cutting-edge powers of balance: he can rollerskate, dance and skateboard if provided with a miniature broom he cheerfully clean up a messy desk.

The greatest talent of Plen, however, is his ability to tackle, dribble and shoot to world-class standards. To universal misery, his makers have gone bankrupt just as their versatile son was preparing to defend, for an extraordinary fifth year, Team Osaka’s coveted title in the RoboCup international robotic football competition. The success of Plen stood out in a country where many of the largest industrial and academic institutions tout the output of their robotics divisions proudly. Toyota, despite dismissing many thousands of humans when its global business turns sour, retains the laboratory where it perfects a trumpet-playing automaton.

The demise of Systec Akazawa does not only rob Japan of an international star, but of a vital service to robot fans and owners throughout the country. Three years ago the robot-obsessed president of the company, Yohei Akazawa, decided that the time was ripe to open the first robot clinic in Japan: a repair shop for ordinary Japanese whose beloved robots develop issues with their solenoids or semi-conductors.

We were sad to recently hear that iRobot is terminating their WiFi-camera-on-a-robot project. It seems that after doing field testings, they discovered the market was not as profitable as expected so they’ve decided to pull back to their core business.

I also learned that the bulk of iRobot’s finances come from the military and that the origin of the Roomba-style hoover robots began as a military project for a de-mining robot which gave birth to an algorithm that ensures that 100% of a given surface will be walked through.

And to add to that it appears that their consumer electronics business is actually barely break-even. Hopefully they can pull through and keep on creating their line of unique bots.

Mattel is bringing its Mind Flex game to market this fall–and you control the action through hand, eye, and mind coordination.

The game features an obstacle course that you will use your brainwave activity to control. The game relies on NeuroSky’s technology and sensors that reside in the headset apparatus.(See video coverage of NeuroSky technology)

One sensor is in the headset itself, against your forehead; two more clip onto your earlobes. The sensors measure theta-wave activity in your brain; the waves are directly related to your level of focus and concentration. The sensors register the theta-wave activity, translate that activity into a signal, and transmit it as a radio frequency to the Mind Flex.

The more theta-wave activity there is, the faster the little fan in the unit will spin. The speed the fan spins at, and therefore moves the ball, is based on how hard you concentrate. The faster the fan spins, the higher the ball goes along the Z axis. Turn a dial and move the ball along the X and Y axis.

Mind Flex is due out in Fall 2009, and will sell for $80