Sometimes hiring a personal assistant is just not enough.

Tech lovers with deep pockets can rely instead on a range of robots to carry out their everyday tasks – from trimming the lawn to lifting heavy loads to entertaining company. Here’s a look at just a few of the robots money can buy – if you’ve got enough of it to burn.

Heavy-Duty Spending
Money can buy a lot, but it can’t buy superhuman strength. Or can it? Berkeley Bionics has developed a series of lightweight exoskeletons able to enhance the strength and mobility of its wearers by allowing them to carry heavy loads without feeling the weight.

Daniel H. Wilson, contributing editor at Popular Mechanics and host of “The Works” on the History Channel, has actually worn one of the exoskeletons on his legs. According to Wilson, the product not only adapts to its wearer’s gait but learns its wearer’s motions such that it can move the person without them even willing it.

“You could potentially walk to work in your sleep,” Wilson said.

The creators of this robotic technology hope to eventually market their products to help with rehabilitation and elderly care, as well as for use by the military. The exoskeletons are not yet available to the general public, which is just as well probably since a prototype costs between $100,000 and $300,000.

But these prices are expected to drop. One of the reasons robots have huge price tags is because the robots can't yet be mass produced, said Dr. Hamayoon Kazerooni, founder of Berkeley Bionics and director of the robotics laboratory at the University of California Berkeley.

“We eventually intend for [these exoskeletons] to be the price of a motorcycle,” Kazerooni said.

Another product currently available for the serious spender is iRobot’s PackBot – a robot used primarily by the military to carry out a range of dangerous tasks, including locating and disarming explosive devices. Over 1,700 PackBots have been sold to the nation’s armed forces as part of multi-million dollar contract deals with iRobot (IRBT) – but the price for just one unit? Somewhere between $60,000 and $130,000, depending on the configuration.

Obviously, the usefulness of this type of device in a home setting is open to question.

“You could buy an iRobot Packbot… but these are remotely controlled and not autonomous and therefore [questionable as to the value they have] in your home,” said Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group.

“The tracks might affect your wood floors, too,” Trower joked, highlighting more practical buys like iRobot’s vacuum cleaner Roomba ($249.99 for the basic model) and gutter cleaner Looj ($99-$169).

The Lighter Side
Friendly Robotics has a line of robots that aims to help homeowners with the oft-dreaded task of mowing their lawns. The RoboMow is an automatic lawnmower that, like iRobot’s Roomba, can be scheduled to deploy from its charger as often as needed to do its job. The robot requires its owner to set up wire pegs to signal the perimeter of the property, and then uses an internal compass to navigate its way across the lawn. It costs between $1,200 and $2,000, depending on the model.

For less-outdoorsy types, PLEN may be the most logical companion. Its Japanese creators call PLEN the world’s first “desktop hobby robot” – and for good reason: users can control the tiny battery-powered robot by using the Bluetooth capabilities present in their cell phones or computers.

The robot, which is about the size of a typical action figure, is designed to entertain users by walking, rollerskating and skateboarding. And, while PLEN can’t lift heavy objects, it certainly seems to lift spirits – online videos and blogs about the robot have attracted swarms of adoring fans. PLEN retails for about $2,000-$2,500.

Microsoft’s Trower recommends those with cash to burn buy some “fun robot toys” like Disney Pixar’s remote-control Wall-E ($249.99) or the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit ($249.99).

For those hoping to cash in on the robotics trend, another option may be to invest in robotics companies – though Trower advises caution there.

“Consider how many early PC companies survived after the intro of the IBM PC,” said Trower. “I think it was just Apple Computer.”