European robotics start-ups go up against Chinese heavyweights (opens in new tab)

French company Enchanted Tools was showing off its Mirokai, a "social" robot with long orange ears and wide blue eyes. Able to communicate in over 50 languages, prototypes of the Paris-based firm's machine are already out in the wild welcoming people to hospitals and airports, marketing chief Richard Malterre said on a Vivatech stage. The start-up hopes its first mass-produced models will arrive by the end of this year. "At least 60 percent of the robot is manufactured in Europe, and we're fi...