Japanese scientists have developed a talking teddy bear to help drivers find their way through traffic.

The robot bear, designed by Japanese scientists, is placed on the car dashboard and advises motorists which roads to take.

Robotics firm iXs Research Corporation, which has developed the bears and unveiled them this week, hopes to have them on the market in Japan next year.

"We want to make it more compact, and we'd like to offer a variety of shapes, including other characters and a plain mechanical version," chief executive Fuminori Yamasaki told Japan's Mainichi Shimbun newspaper.

The bear has got moving arms and neck so it can also point confused drivers in the right direction.

And it has been programmed to offer up information about local landmarks when its head is rubbed.

But the bear, which stands one foot tall, also has serious safety responsibilities.

It has been programmed to say "You haven't been drinking, have you?" if it detects alcohol on a driver's breath, while any sudden acceleration or braking results in the warning: "Watch out!"