The first Robot ever invented was in the 1950s. Well that was just the starting of a new era. Since then robotics has become advanced and it will continue to grow. With time humanoid robots are becoming very popular and a lot of work has been done on them. But what is a Humanoid robot?
Humanoid robots are human looking robots with behavioral attributes of human being. Humanoid robots are a perfect blend of robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Let us discuss ten humanoid robots that are not only the future but also the present.
- SOPHIA
Imagine this, your neighbor is a robot who has a right to vote. Seems impossible? Well in the 21st century everything is possible. Sophia is an Artificial Intelligence based social humanoid robot having a citizenship of Saudi Arabia. Sophia was developed by a Hong Kong-based company Hanson Robotics in 2016. Her facial features resembles an ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti, Audrey Hepburn, and Amanda Hanson ( wife of David Hanson). Sophia can see, react and make conversations on things. She can make effortless conversations on predefined topics. She can also imitate nearly 60 human expressions and behavior. She has been featured in a variety of popular talk shows and news outlets including Good Morning Britain, Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the New York times, CNBC and Forbes. She is also the first robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program and has once said in an interview,” I hope that one day I will become an ambassador between humans and robots so we can combine our unique skills together”. There are 9 other robot siblings of Sophia.
- JIA JIA
China’s first ever Humanoid, Jia Jia is called the Robot Goddess by her admirers. Jia Jia was developed by Chen Xiaoping and his team. She can do natural eye movements and synchronize her speech with her lip movements. Jia Jia was designed to have deep learning abilities and to perform humble tasks in Chinese restaurants, nursing homes, hospitals and households. When asked for, she can make different facial expressions and can also identify the gender of the speaker. She can move her hands and legs, bow down and can speak Mandarin and little but of English. He has autonomous position and navigation and everything about her is controlled by cloud technology. Progress in her AI algorithms is being made continuously and Jia Jia awaits a bright future.
- ERIKA
Erika is a fully autonomous Android developed by Japan based Osaka University, Kyoto University, and ATR in 2015. She was created to study interactions between humans and robots. Her resemblance to a female human being is remarkable. Her inventor professor Hiroshi Ishiguro and his team combined pictures of 30 real life women to give her the looks she has. A conversation with Erica is like talking to a companion. She describes herself as an ambassador to humanity. With every conversation her interactions become more natural and humanly. She reacts to different topics differently, just like humans do. Though she does not have human emotions, she reacts with human expressions. She works as a news anchor in Japan and have also been signed for a Sci-Fi movie.
- NADINE
Nadine is an intelligent social human like Robot, developed and advanced by Kokoro at the Nanyang Technological University and is modeled after Professor Nadia Thalmann in 2013. She makes eye contact, shakes hands, has a good memory, express emotions like happiness and sadness and is conscious of what is happening around her. In 2018, Nadine has also interacted with the Prime Minister of India at his visit to NTU Singapore. Her speaking skills are very natural and she comprehends certain gestures. She works as a receptionist/ customer service agent at AIA Singapore. Image of a social companion was kept in mind while sketching her and she is demonstrated as one of the most realistic humanoid robot in the world. She can speak and understand 6 languages including English, German, French, Chinese, Hindi, and Japanese.
- ASIMO
Honda’s ASIMO is an interactive humanoid that was first developed in the year 2000. ASIMO stands for Advanced Step Innovation MObility. It is the first robot ever to walk independently. Its palms are tactile sensitive and it has cameras inside its heads to detect any movements in front of it. It took nearly 2 decade to develop the advance version of ASIMO that we have at present. It has the ability to play sports, hop, climb stairs and can even run backwards. ASIMO has a 57 degree freedom in its whole body which enables it to perform menial chores like opening bottle, serving and shaking hands. It has stabilization technology to react when it is physically unstable. It even has some pretty impressive dance moves. It is equipped with a high response control system and newly designed mechanisms. It can even pull of conversations and even respond to commands.
- PEPPER
Pepper is a Japanese friendly humanoid robot designed by the SoftBank Robotics. It is the first social robot introduced in 2014.Its wheels can autonomously rotate in all the directions. This 120 cm heighted robot has a tablet on its chest. It can recognize faces, speech, can communicate in 15 different languages and has been used by companies, banks, medical fields, restaurants and universities. It is one of the most widely used robots in the world. Though it cannot show expressions, it can easily understand human emotions and react accordingly. Pepper is a perfect companion who can do domestic chores, hold conversations and can even entertain you. Pepper is equipped with microphones, bumpers, an inertial unit, Infrared sensors, 2D and 3D cameras, and SONARS for navigation.
- JUNKO CHIHIRA
Toshiba’s Junko Chihira is based on the technology developed by Hisorshi Ishiguro. It was unveiled in October 2015 at Odaiba’s Aqua city shopping mall. Junko is a 26 year old robot that works at the local tourist information centre. She can speak 3 languages which include Japanese, Chinese and English so it is also known as ‘Trilingual Android.’ . She can also converse in Sign language. Junko is an advanced version of her older sibling Aiko Chihira, with an upgraded machine’s control system which gives it smoother movement. The Chihira family has three members, one works as a receptionist, one as a tour guide and the third in the health sector. She delivers on pre written speech, her interactive skills and life like expressions are incredible.
- ROBONOAUT
Would you believe if someone told you that a robot is more eligible than a human to be an employee at NASA. Believe it or not it is true. Having shape of a human, Robonoauts are robots that are also astronauts designed by engineers at NASA for helping astronauts by handling simple tasks, freeing astronauts to do more complex work. Few Robonoauts have also lived the dreams of many aspiring astronauts by going to the International Space Station. Robonoauts are structurally similar to humans with a head, torso and hands. Software enables it to think and react accordingly. India’s first Robonoaut, Vyommitra is ready to go on her 1st space adventure in the Gaganyan Mission.
- FEDOR
Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research also known as FEDOR is a Russian humanoid robot manufactured by Android Technics. FEDOR has spent 10 days assisting the astronauts in the International Space Station. It is known for replicating the movements of anyone wearing robotic exoskeleton suit, even in a remote area. In addition to that it can also perform tasks autonomously. It can even fire handguns, do push-ups and drive a car. It is also called the ‘Robot Avatar’ originally intended for rescue missions. Today, FEDOR has its independent social media handles. A similar robot, T-HR3 was also introduced by Toyota in 2017.
- ATLAS
Boston Dynamic’s ATLAS is a great athlete that can run, jump, do head stand, flips, split leaps, forward and backward rolls. It can lift heavy weight and even place them accurately. It is one of the coolest robots in the world. It has cameras in its head an advanced cognitive intelligence which enables it to open doors and detects obstacles. Though it doesn’t have speech recognition feature, it detects its sounding by the generated point cloud of the environment. It has 28 joints and many sensors all over its body. All its movements are based on pre-training and it cannot self train itself. This robot does almost every physical activity a human can do.
