2018 Berlin IFA: Robots take the centerstage of Berlin exhibition

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One of the world's largest technology fairs has kicked off in Germany. Robots are strutting the hallways. They're getting smarter and smaller. CGTN's Guy Henderson reports from Berlin.

They call it "soft tech". Gomer's robotic arm can sense if a household item should be handled with care, if not love. It is designed to hang out safely with your kids.

"He has eyes, he can feel our emotions, he can remember a name. He can interact with us. (Guy: he looks a little upset there, he's going round in circles.) Yes, he's just playing around by himself. He's alive, he's not a machine. He's intelligent."

There is at least a veneer of humanity here. Less necessary on a factory floor. As such technologies spread to the high street, that is apparently becoming more important.

GUY HENDERSON BERLIN "This is one of largest technology fayres in the world. Last year, IFA was spread over 59,000 square meters and filled with around 1,800 exhibitors. Organisers say it's even bigger this year. We're in the IFA Next Area where they're looking to the future. And one prevalent theme seems to be making robots smaller, so they can fit into every home."

This is not Cruzr's first year here. Which might partly explain its increasing confidence.

"What are you doing here?"

Robot: "I am here to help you make order, would you like to have a cup of coffee?"

Or is that down to rapidly advancing face and voice recognition capabilities.

EMILY HUANG UBTECH ROBOTICS "In Cruzr, we have a 6+ mic for the area to collect the sound but we also have our own algorithm, for example, the noise cancelling, it can cancel all the unrelated noises."

Amid all the humanoid-wannabes though, there is an outlier. Temi is also a household helper.

But no eyes - no smile.

DANNY ISSERLES TEMIA "This is a device, it is a machine. It is an extremely smart machine. But if I compare it to a human, it is a very stupid human. It is nothing like: it doesn’t have emotions, we don’t believe that an algorithm that recognises your emotions can ever replace or be as emotionally intelligent as your family or your friends."

That's not to say there's no value in a nice robotic hug.

BAGINDA TIRTADJI SOMNOX "It simulates human-like breathing, breathing out, breathing in again, so what that does to your mind and your body is that they automatically adjust to the breathing of the robot which makes you more calm, more relaxed, and fall asleep faster."

The robots of tomorrow will do almost anything for you it seems.

GH, CGTN, BERLIN.