Japanese company ZMP has begun selling robots for home protection that can be remotely controlled by mobile phone.

The 15in high Nuvo robot has a video camera in its head which can be used to take pictures of any would-be burglars trying to bypass the security droids.

Nuvo was designed by Ken Okuyama, who has worked for Maserati and Ferrari. It is available in red, blue, silver and yellow and costs $5,450, although a limited edition model decorated in a traditional Japanese style is available for $13,670.

The devices can be controlled by computer, mobile phone, voice commands or a remote control unit.

But their creator admits that they are not much good at catching intruders since, despite their racing design pedigree, they have a very sedate top speed of three metres per minute. Battery life is just 90 minutes.

Besides home protection the Nuvo can dance, spin, fall over and pick itself up, and the manufacturer hopes to build in speech capabilities to future models. A range of clothes and accessories is also available.

ZMP is predicting sales of 2,300 units and promised to build more advanced models in the future.