Roborior – a watermelon-sized eyeball on wheels that glows purple, blue, and orange – started to distribute on stores across Japan on Thursday. Roborior can function as interior decor, but also as a virtual guard dog that can sense break-ins using infrared sensors, notify homeowners by calling their cellular phones, and send the owner’s cell phone videos from its digital camera.

“We’ve had robots before that were just toys, but the Roborior can actually be put to practical use in the home,” said Takako Sakata, a spokeswoman for the department store chain Takashimaya.

Supplies are currently limited. Eventhough it’s not cheap – Takashimaya sells it for $2600 each – many more are taking orders.

“We received a lot of inquiries after the demonstrations,” Sakata said. “Our initial plan is to sell 2,000 robots.”

Roborior is developed by Japanese robot maker Tmsuk Co. Ltd. and electronics company Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd.. Tmsuk has already produced a four-legged security robot called Banryu, which is about the size of a large dog and sells for $18,000.

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