Extraordinary machines; Would you be massaged by a robot.

Byline: Ying Chu

Some might say that my new masseur is the strong, silent type, with a powerful and precise touch that can detangle even the most knotted of muscles. But he-actually, it-is closer to C3PO than to Klaus. A pair of rounded, inch-wide titanium prongs capable of exerting approximately 100 pounds of pressure extends from a robotic arm encased in dull black plastic. A few feet away, a technician types commands into a computer to adjust the speed and strength of its mechanical touch. The machine goes by the aptly high-tech name of Meilus Therbo Automatic Robot-Meilus for short.

Designed by a retired GE electrical engineer on a quest to treat his own neck and jaw pain, the robot literally has deep-tissue technique down to a science. "The machine senses the resistance in the muscle and changes its pressure as the tightness of the muscle changes," says Rich Greco, who operates Meilus at Greco Physical Therapy & Sports Performance in Greenvale, New York, one of 20 facilities nationwide where the robot has taken up residence. (Eight more openings are slated for this year.) "Because it applies a constant, controlled force, your brain knows what to expect next and, in turn, relaxes the body, allowing for more effective muscular release. You can't achieve that with the human touch."

Welcome to beauty's sci-fi frontier, where technology is the name of the game. Already techno_grooming gadgets are threatening to make things like the trusty manual toothbrush (or even a basic electric one, for that matter) seem dated and old-fashioned, prime candidates for a spot in a design retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. Witness the Oral-B Triumph ProfessionalCare 9000 electronic toothbrush: When the battery needs charging, an embedded computerized microchip in the handle speaks up. In thirteen languages.

Another kind of vibrating brush, one for your skin, is also vying for counter space in the brave new bathroom. From the makers of Sonicare, the popular electronic toothbrush, comes the _Clarisonic Skin Care Brush, which promises to deep-clean pores better than bare hands and a scoop of apricot-kernel scrub ever could. And cellulite sufferers have been raiding Bergdorf Goodman's supply of the Wellbox, a $1,600, fifteen-pound, egg-shaped white pod lauded as one-stop shopping for "cellulite, blood circulation, firming, and muscle relaxation." Slide open the domed, hatchback lid and you'll find five motorized heads, two for lifting and firming the skin and three for body contouring. A spike in your Con Ed bill will also likely be part of the near future.

Perhaps the piece de resistance of at-home beauty machines is a new intelligent bathtub from the Brazilian company the I-House. Equipped with an Ethernet connection, the tub can be programmed and activated via the Web to fill with water at a specified time and temperature. When sensors recognize that the water is ready, the digital network dials up your phone to let you know it's time to soak.

"It's phenomenal to think of how far we've come in the last 20 years and what we have yet to look forward to," says Estee Lauder's Loretta Miraglia, who travels the world in search of the next big thing beauty-product-wise. ...