Robot is self-aware?

According to a Japanese scientist, they have created a robot that may be regarded as 'self-aware' or recognizes itself and distinguishes from others. If this is true artificial intelligence (AI) then this is a big step indeed. The article in the Discovery Channel News said that:

The ground-breaking technology could eventually lead to robots able to express emotions.

Under development by Junichi Takeno and a team of researchers at Meiji University in Japan, the robot represents a big step toward developing self-aware robots and in understanding and modeling human self-consciousness.

I sure hope this is a positive thing that could genuinely help humanity and not become a nightmarish situations as espoused by the horrific scenarios in sci-fi movies like The Matrix or Terminator.