ROBOCOOK: Visitors sample food made by a cooking robot at the China Beijing International Hi-Tech Expo on May 23, 2009 CHEN XIAOGEN

There is nothing novel about robots nowadays, but they are still a source of mystery and curiosity to many people. The annual China Beijing International Hi-Tech Expo looks to sate some of that appetite. Crowds of curious visitors gather around showcase robots, with those involved in daily human life attracting much of the attention.

During this year's expo, a robotic cook took the spotlight. The versatile helper is able to create China's major local cuisines, only needing a person to feed it raw materials and push a button to select a dish name—the robot takes care of the rest in a few minutes. The robocook's owner can even get dinner started while still at work using remote control.

More and more often robots are stepping out of the movies and into the average household. A store specializing in selling robots opened in April in Beijing's Zhongguancun District, also known as China's "Silicon Valley," which claims to be the first of its kind in the country.

Many came to see the robots on the store's opening day. "We anticipated that we would be losing money in the beginning of our startup. We hope that more people will come to the realization that robots can have something to do with their daily lives," said a store manager.

"We surveyed the market for three years before launching the store to find that many white-collar workers in the city are longing for a robot helper. Robots are not tools for people to seek temporary pleasure, they are companions to explore a new way of life," said storeowner Luo Chengwu, who had worked in IT for 10 years before starting the business. "Computers have become a must for people's lives, and robots, as the natural progression from computers, can now walk out of science museums and become real helpers."

Cleaning, entertainment, educational and explosive-disposal robots are all available in the store. Many are imported, and the cleaning robot among them is the fastest seller. It can identify different types of floors and adjust itself to suitable cleaning methods. Its owner tells it how long to clean for, then the robot works out its route by itself using a probe in front of its body.

A 30-cm-tall robot made in Japan called Robonova can do many different difficult moves—it can do a side somersault, dance and kick a football. Its owner can load different teaching software, and the robot becomes a tireless teacher.

Store visitors will see China's first intelligent robot for the family—Tami. Being 45-cm tall and weighing 7 kg, Tami is like a 5- to 7-year-old child who never grows old. It is capable of becoming a real family member. It is polite and can greet everyone; its eyes can identify objects and people so it can say the correct names of family members; a wave gets a smile in return and when touched, it whistles; and when it gets hungry it recharges itself, never bothering others. Tami can understand 200 Chinese sentences and is emotional—it can appear sad or angry when it is scolded. The owner must comfort the robot child, otherwise it will deliberately turn a deaf ear to any orders that are given.

Tami can do many others things a human child cannot do. It can be an alarm clock and can tell its owner the latest news and weather forecast, as it is connected to the Internet via a Wi-Fi connection. Tami can also videotape or photograph precious moments of the family children. As a teacher, the robot can speak to children in English and play games with them. Experts say the results of studying with robots are three times better than those of learning from computers.

Tami can also contribute to the cooking, with loads of recipes in its memory that it can draw on to offer detailed steps on how to prepare a dish. It can play as a nurse, monitoring changes in pulse around the clock as long as a wristwatch-like device is worn. When the body gives abnormal signals, it can warn the person and also broadcast an alarm text message to the person's family. Hosts can also call up health monitor data when they are away from home by text messaging the robot.

As a security guard, Tami protects the house against strangers. It can take pictures of visitors, sending the pictures to a designated cell phone or ringing an alarming bell. The host can remotely control the robot around the house to check on everything.