With the seemingly infinte chasm of cash that Toyota and Honda have between them to shape the robot market almost unchallenged four of the smaller fry in the market have teamed up together.

Calling themselves the Association for Market Creation of the Future Generation Robots (definitely in need of an acronym there) the four will license and exchange ideas and technologies with each other to improve their inventions.

The members of the association are Tmsuk Co Ltd, Business Design Laboratory Co Ltd, Vstone Co Ltd and ZMP Inc.

Tmsuk handles a range of robots from a large rescue robot for disasters to a home surveillance robot, Business Design Laboratory develops and sells robots that communicate with humans at homes and medical institutes and Vstone is known for its two-legged robot that plays football and ZMP is famous for the development of a music player robot.

A lifesaving superhero that sings in a central midfield position who can mix a phat tune on the turntables could perhaps be in the offing!