There's a scene in the 1987 science fiction movie "RoboCop" in which part-human, part-robot police officer Alex Murphy recalls life with his family before suffering the injury that transforms him into a mechanized warrior. In an attempt to re-connect with his roots Murphy drives to the family home in Detroit, only to find it's up for sale.

Inside the vacant property, he's greeted by a series of computerized kiosks from which a video salesman describes the home's many attributes. Ultimately overcome by grief, and overwhelmed by noise from the incessant video salespitch, Murphy punches, then tramples, the kiosk.

Comparisons to this almost-20-year-old cult film classic probably are unfair, but they seemed inevitable as a California-based company yesterday (Aug. 21, 2006) introduced a kiosk sales device called "Onsite Agent." The machine, created specifically for residential home builders, takes personal information from prospective buyers, dispenses brochures about a model home, and then unlocks its door to let visitors tour the property.

As a prospect walks from room to room, Onsite Agent works in the background. Its customer relationship management (CRM) software generates follow-up messages and sends them to the prospect's e-mail address. It creates and sends contact reminders to the agent responsible for model home sales. If appropriate, it even writes a receipt for agent and prospect alike that "captures" the tour as a transaction and documents an agent-client relationship to ensure commission earnings if a home sale results from the visit.

Onsite Agent is the product of HomeFeedback.com, a San Diego firm founded in 2000. President Rick Bengson, in a press release, reports the company has applied for patents on almost every device or process involved in the kiosk system. He also foresees applications beyond real estate. Kiosk features, he says, "can easily be beneficial" for the automotive and travel industries, or any other business that wants to obtain client information before distributing printed take-aways.

Onsite Agent won't talk to clients ... yet. But that version of the machine surely isn't far off.