Robots steal the show in Tokyo at Ceatec 2014 (pictures)

Welcome to Tokyo! Ceatec is Japan's biggest consumer electronics show, and a great glimpse at the future of consumer tech. It's also a great place to scope out some insane robots, like this giant dinosaur!

Called TE Saurus, this robot is from TE Connectivity. The 'bot has little more brains than your average animatronic creation.

Instead of having a brain, TE Saurus relies on a smartphone app to control its movements, which include running, jumping and, of course, roaring.

This menacing tripod is not invading from Mars. Instead it's here to play a friendly game of table tennis.

Omron's table tennis bot is a demonstration to show what a more intelligent assembly line bot could do, making decisions based on human interactions.

It even had a digital face, which didn't succeed in making it any less imposing.

This is Bocco, a little 'bot intended for preschoolers. The idea is that mom or dad can send a message to Bocco that will play when the kids get home, and then kids can send a message back by pressing a button on Bocco's belly.

Bocco will be available in three colors early next year, hopefully for around $200 (£120/AU$225).

Not a robot exactly, but too cool to not include, is Skeletonics. It's a 12-foot exoskeleton, perfect for your next cosplay convention.

Bionic hands have some sharp-looking, battery-powered claws.

Skeletonics is intended to be covered in whatever robotic exterior you choose. Yours for just $50,000.

Toshiba did away with a human receptionist and instead put this creepy-looking robot out front. She wasn't much help at anything beyond "konichiwa."

This is Rapiro, a little DIY robot kit that's powered by a Raspberry Pi module. Build him and paint him however you like, then have fun controlling his behavior.

Denso's Denou-sen robot is a master at playing shogi, or Japanese chess. It recognizes and moves pieces around using a robotic arm.

Denou-sen has recently beaten some human masters at the game of shogi.

OriHime is a telepresence robot, with cameras for eyes and speakers for a mouth. This one has been outfitted with a custom face made to look like, what else, his creator.

Chapit has been around for a few years, but he's still on the expo circuit. The chill little guy can handle some home automation tasks -- air conditioning, lighting -- and automatically make adjustments based on who it recognizes and simple voice commands.

Thank for reading, and may our future robotic overlords take kindly to you.