Honda Motor said Thursday that it will conduct demonstration tests of a self-driving electric vehicle and a logistic robot in Ibaraki Prefecture from mid-February. The four-seater EV, named CiKoMa, can travel at speeds of up to 20 kph. It will transport people between a michi no eki roadside rest station in the city of Joso and a strawberry-picking farm 850 meters away for free. At the farm, people can take a walk with the WaPOCHI robot, which follows them by identifying their silhouette. It can carry cargoes weighing up to 30 kilograms. Honda aims to collect data from the tests for use in product development.

However, reaching consensus is likely to prove difficult on some key issues, in particular those involving trade. Participating nations have clashing interests, most notably the U.S. and China. "First, I would like to stress the importance of tapping into data, which is the source of innovation," Hiroshige Seko, minister of economy, trade and industry, said at the beginning of the digital economy session. Seko said that "ensuring the free flow of data internationally is indispensable to the economic development of the world as a whole." He then introduced a concept called "Data Fee Flow with Trust," or DFFT, which he said would promote free data flows while securing trust related to privacy and security.

A robot is set to become the first non-human to appear as a witness before the UK Parliament. The Commons Education Select Committee invited Pepper the robot from Middlesex University to give evidence at a hearing taking place next week about artificial intelligence, robotics and the fourth industrial revolution. "If we've got the march of the robots, we perhaps need the march of the robots to our select committee to give evidence," Committee chair Robert Halfon told Tes. "The fourth industrial revolution is possibly the most important challenge facing our nation over the next 10, 20 to 30 years." The Independent has reached out for more details about the appearance. Despite dystopian predictions and dire warnings of robots and AI taking over people's jobs, the government has previously expressed interest in the potential of robotic technology.

A video that appears to show a human-like robot walking slowly down a driveway has stoked fears of a robot apocalypse, receiving thousands of shares across social media. The 14-second clip has caught the attention of celebrities on Twitter, including the illusionist Derren Brown and Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh. Welsh compared the robot's gait to his after a night partying, tweeting: "Got a fright there. Thought that was 90's footage of me walking home from Pure or Turnmills after a night on the eckies." Brown simply tweeted: "WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE."