news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4714135.stm
Printable version Japanese develop 'female' android By David Whitehouse Science editor, BBC News website Repliee Q1 plus Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru (Getty) Professor Ishiguru stresses the importance of appearance Japanese scientists have unveiled the most human-looking robot yet devise d - a "female" android called Repliee Q1. She has flexible silicone for skin rather than hard plastic, and a number of sensors and motors to allow her to turn and react in a human-like ma nner. She can flutter her eyelids and move her hands like a human. Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru of Osaka University says one day robots could fool us into believing they are human. Repliee Q1 is not like any robot you will have seen before, at least outs ide of science-fiction movies. She is designed to look human and although she can only sit at present, s he has 31 actuators in her upper body, powered by a nearby air compresso r, programmed to allow her to move like a human. We have found that people forget she is an android while interacting with her Prof Hiroshi Ishiguru "I have developed many robots before," Repliee Q1's designer, Professor I shiguru, told the BBC News website, "but I soon realised the importance of its appearance. A human-like appearance gives a robot a strong feelin g of presence." Designed to look human Before Repliee Q1, Professor Ishiguru developed Repliee R1 which had the appearance of a five-year-old Japanese girl. Its head could move in nine directions and it could gesture with its arm. Four high-sensitivity tactile sensors were placed under the skin of its left arm that made the android react differently to differing pressures . Repliee Q1 (Professor Hiroshi Ishiguru) Scientists think that, one day, robots could fool us into believing they were human The follow-up has the appearance of a Japanese woman. To program her moti on, a computer analysed the motions of a human and used them as a templa te for the way Repliee Q1 moves. She can be designed to follow the movement of a human wearing motion sens ors or to act independently. It can respond to people touching i t It's very satisfying, although we obviously have a long way to go yet ." Professor Ishiguru believes that it may prove possible to build an androi d that could pass for a human, if only for a brief period. "An android could get away with it for a short time, 5-10 seconds. Howeve r, if we carefully select the situation, we could extend that, to perhap s 10 minutes," he said. "More importantly, we have found that people forget she is an android whi le interacting with her.
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