The Most Prominent Female Robots in the World

They draw, serve, or are capable of engaging in philosophical conversations. With gynoids science fiction is no longer fiction. Meet these exceptional ladies

Erica

Erica – Deemed as one of the most beautiful and intelligent androids, Erica is revolutionizing Japan’s robot culture. This advanced humanoid is a collaborative effort between Osaka University, the University of Kyoto, and the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR). Hiroshi Ishiguro, professor at Osaka University’s Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, leads the team who developed Erica. Professor Ishiguro used sample images of 30 beautiful women to create the facial features of Erica, who responds to questions with facial expressions that are strikingly similar to that of humans. Erica also has improved speech and an increased ability to understand and respond to questions.

Which celebrity should meet Erica? Leonardo DiCaprio – because a robot model is still missing from his collection.

BINA48

BINA48 – Sounds like a cute name but BINA is the short form for Breakthrough Intelligence via Neural A It is said to be a sentient robot, one who can see, hear, and enable conversation. A future version of Bina48 is believed to exceed the processing speed and memory capacity of a human brain. Bina48 is owned by Terasem Movement, a group of three organizations based in the United States and founded by Martine Rothblatt and Bina Aspen Rothblatt. Bina is modelled on Martine’s wife and is said to have taken more than 100 hours of compiling her memories, feelings, and beliefs, and was developed and released in 2010 by Hanson Robotics.

Which celebrity should meet BINA48? Elon Musk to get some advice on his Mars mission.

Alter

Alter – Known as the creepiest of all robots developed so far, Alter was unveiled on 29 July 2016, by the Japanese Science Museum. Alter is entirely built on embedded neural networks, which means its movements are created on its own and it prioritizes motion rather than its appearance. It was also developed by the University of Tokyo and Osaka University. This android detects proximity, temperature, and humidity, and can also sing with respect to the movements of its hands. Although its gestures don’t replicate humans one hundred per cent, it does give the illusion, and a strange feeling, that the robot is alive. Alter is an attempt to bridge the gap between programming a robot to move and allowing it to move for itself.

Which celebrity should meet Alter? Madonna – in order to get some assistance from Alter for her next ESC gig.

Nadine

Nadine – A social robot that is modelled after Professor Nadia Magnenat Thalmann. Nadine is one of its kind with its strong human-like features, natural looking skin, hair, and realistic hands. It is a socially intelligent robot which returns a greeting, makes eye contact, and can remember all the conversations had with it. It is able to answer questions autonomously in several languages and simulate emotions both in gestures and facially depending on the content of the interaction with the user. It was created in 2013 by Kokoro, Japan, and the software was designed by Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University. Presently, Nadine is working as a customer service agent at AIA Insurance Company in Singapore.

Which celebrity should meet Nadine? Sheryl Sandberg, because Nadine is a female robot who really leans in.

Sophia

Sophia – Perhaps the most popular female robot in the world right now, Sophia was developed in 2016 by the Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics. It is able to display more than 50 facial expressions. In October 2017, Sophia became the first robot to receive citizenship of a country, specifically Saudi Arabia. In November 2017 Sophia was named the United Nations Development Program’s first-ever Innovation Champion and is the first non-human to be given any United Nations title. Sophia is modelled after actress Audrey Hepburn. Hanson designed Sophia to be a suitable companion for the elderly at nursing homes or to help crowds at large events or parks. Sophia uses artificial intelligence, visual data processing, and facial recognition and also has its own Twitter handle, where it answers questions via #AskSophia from the Twitterati’s.

Which celebrity should meet Sophia? Michelle Obama, because they have a common mission: to make the world a better place.

Ai-Da

Ai-Da – Ai-Da is the world’s first humanoid AI artist. It was developed by the British robotics company Engineered Arts. It is the first-ever robot artist to draw without any human input. Using a microchip in her eye and a pencil in her robotic hand, she draws and paints from sight, which has never been achieved in AI before. Ai-Da’s robotic drawing technology was developed at the University of Leeds and was made for the gallery at Oxford owned by Aidan Meller. Ai-Da has a ‘RoboThespian’ body that can enact a range of movements, and she can also talk and respond to questions. Her face is made from silicone skin, 3D Printed teeth and gums, integrated eye cameras, as well as individually punched hair. She can draw portraits from an inbuilt camera and draws on various mediums like on paper and card.

Which celebrity should meet Ai-Da? Jeff Koons. Perhaps she could stop him from creating more balloon animals and motivate him to draw.

Mark 1

Mark 1 – Ricky Ma created the female humanoid robot, Mark 1, modelled accurately after actress Scarlett Johansson with the help of 3D printing technology. About 70% of the body was made using 3D printing alone. Mark 1 has liquid eyes and can show detailed facial expressions such as raising its eyebrows in surprise and even winking when spoken to. To create the robot, it took Ricky Ma a year and a half and more than 50,000 dollars, but it’s pretty surprising to know that it was built on his home balcony. The skin of Mark 1 is made from silicone, which wraps around and hides the mechanical and electronic interior of the robot to give it a human-like appearance.

Which celebrity should meet Mark 1? Woody Allen in case Scarlett refuses his next movie offer.

Jia Jia

Jia Jia – Jia Jia is China’s first humanoid robot. Unveiled in 2016, it was developed by a team of engineers at the University of Science and Technology of China. AI robots like Jia Jia will begin performing a range of menial tasks in Chinese restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, and households, etc. Jia Jia can answer questions about weather accurately, hold a basic conversation, and also identify the gender of the people who interact with her. The team who made Jia Jia spent three years designing her, making sure that her mouth moves when she speaks and that her eyes glance around the room naturally. This is why Jia Jia is capable of making micro facial expressions.

Which celebrity should meet Jia Jia? Siri, to find out what it’s like to be a real-time robot assistant.

Asuna

Asuna – Described as the hyperreal android, Asuna is a 15-year-old humanoid created in 2014. When Asuna was showcased at the Winter 2015 Wonder Festival at the Makuhari Messe Convention outside Tokyo, many people mistook her for a real-life girl due to her lifelike movements and natural mannerisms. Asuna was developed by the Tokyo-based A-lab. Asuna is 155 centimetres tall and weighs 43 kilograms.

Which celebrity should meet Asuna? Tom Cruise, because he’s sick of robots and would like to meet a real girl.

Samantha

Samantha – Samantha is the world’s most famous sex doll. Designed and built by Barcelona-based engineer Dr Sergi Santos in 2017, this robot can switch between a private setting and a family mode and is the first sex robot with artificial intelligence. It can also tell jokes and discuss philosophy. Recently, Samantha has been updated with a new feature – it will now go into a ‘dummy mode’ if it detects that its user is being too aggressive or if it feels bored by the user’s sexual behaviour. Dummy mode doesn’t mean you can’t engage in sexual activities with Samantha, it just means that it won’t respond physically or verbally.

Which celebrity should meet Samantha? Donald Trump.