The sex robot is a troubling reality

There is a barely audible click as her doe-like eyes framed by thick black lashes snap open: 'Hello humans, my name is Harmony,' she says in a gentle Scottish lilt. 'My objective is to be a perfect companion.' As she'speaks', her mouth moves in an unnaturally jerky way. Her eyes'blink' and it is – initially – chilling to see the'flexing' of her silicone skin which is cold and clammy to the touch. But spend an hour in the company of Harmony – claimed by creator Matt McMullen to be the world's first commercially available'sexbot' – and it is hard not to be intrigued and repulsed at the same time.