The days of a pain-free visit to the dentist may not be far off. This is thanks to a little Japanese woman in a pink sweater, named Simroid. With a limited vocabulary, Simroid, the 160cm-tall robot is happy to feel your pain.     Simroid is designed to be used at medical colleges. She has realistic looking skin, eyes, and a mouth fitted with replica   teeth. Her chest also rises and falls as if she is breathing. Simroid releases a clear "ouch!" whenever a trainee dentist presses her teeth too hard with a tool. And she gives a reassuring "that's better" when the drill hits the right place.     "We want to use the robots to train dentists to worry about whether patients are comfortable, and not just focus on medical techniques," said Naotake Shubui, a professor at Nippon Dental University inprefix = st1 /Japanwho helped develop Simroid.    The robot was one of hundreds of cutting-edge devices on display at the world's biggest robot exhibition last week inJapan. As scientists improve the design of robots, they could soon be serving tea to office workers or directing shoppers. Today's robots look and act much like the humans who invented them.     InJapan, robots can already be found working as home helps, office receptionists and security guards, as well as on the factory floor. There were more than 370,000 industrial robots in use inJapanin 2005, according to a report by Macquarie bank,40 percent of the world total, with 32 robots for every 1,000 workers. The economy ministry believes that the Japanese robot market will be worth more than $52 billion by 2025.    Human work is being helped, and even replaced, by mechanical efficiency in almost every area, from golf-bag carriers to public toilet cleaners.    But many scientists believe the age of the service robot is not far off. It will arrive once machines are capable of connecting with humans on an emotional level. Judging by theTokyoexhibition, _ has already begun. Simroid is designed to   _  .
aid dental trainees to focus on their medical techniques train dentists to be able to share patients' feelings help patients relax during dental surgery serve as the dentists' assistance during dental surgery