Well, we're doomed. NEC System Technologies Ltd. has released a hoard of ravenous, meat-hungry robots. This will surely spell the end for modern humanity as we know it. The vile fiends have tasted human flesh, and they like it.

Mockingly, one robot tells a man he tastes like bacon. You can almost see the cold, dead cyborg lick his breathless lips. He tells another man he tastes like a delectable Italian cured meat. You can imagine him sharpening a chef's knife that protracts from his rigid, pulseless left arm.

Perhaps the robots will finish us off with a glass of good Merlot and the sweetest apple from a bushel picked by human slaves, who, when they aren't food themselves, are occupied with feeding and nurturing the growing nightmarish machine army.

Okay, so maybe it hasn't quite gotten that far yet. However, NEC research has developed a personal robot that uses infrared technology to identify wine by type, taste and brand as well as to identify different types of food and their taste.

In one demonstration, the robot was able to determine the sweetest tasting of three apples. It was also able to identify the other two as slightly sour.

It does this by analyzing the chemical composition of the items placed before its infrared spectrometer-equipped left hand. (Its right hand must be where the chef's knife goes.)

Two years of efforts from NEC have led to a seemingly harmless robot. However, one reporter took things too far and put his own hand up to the robot. He was identified as prosciutto, a tasty Italian cured meat. A cameraman gave it a try and was identified as bacon.

The technology represents a remarkable breakthrough in food and wine identification. Apparently priceless wines can now be identified as legitimate or counterfeit without bottles being opened. Possibly, food could be tested for spoilage, pre-empting any rashes of certain sicknesses.

There are no marketing plans behind the product just yet. However, a South Coast Today article shows that the robot could eventually sell for as little as $1,000, making it a toy for those with healthy budgets. 

The only real cost will be the event of our freedom being sucked away by our new flesh-eating robot rulers.