Sophia is a humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong-based Company Hanson Robotics. Dr. David Hanson, founder of Hanson Robotics. The man has a worldwide reputation for creating humanoids.
So you might be thinking what is the humanoid robot? And what makes them different from other robots?
Here is the answer:
A humanoid robot is a robot with its body shape to resemble the human body. The humanoid robot heads designed to replicate human facial features such as eyes and mouths.
Researchers need to understand the human body structure and biomechanics to build and study humanoid robots. Besides the research, humanoid robots are being developed to perform human tasks like personal assistance.
Humanoids could theoretically perform any task a human can and it takes an immense amount of programming behind the scene.
The Difference:
The most important difference between normal robots and humanoids is in planning and control. It is like a more intelligent and optimize version of any robot which tend to be more human-like.
History:
Sophia activated on April 19, 2015, and modeled after actress Audrey Hepburn. According to the manufacturer, David Hanson, Sophia has artificial intelligence, visual data processing, and facial recognition.
Sophia also imitates human gestures and facial expressions and is able to answer certain questions and to make simple conversations.
The Technology behind Sophia:
The robot uses voice recognition technology from Alphabet Inc. which is the parent company of Google. It will get smarter over time.
Singularity NET designed Sofia’s intelligence software. The AI program analyses conversations and extracts data that allows Sophia to improve responses in the future.
Hanson Robotics said that they created Sophia as the most advanced robot.
The Genesis:
She is a media favorite and she did several interviews. Also, she has sung in a concert and even appeared on the cover of Elle magazine.
She has interests in business and has met face-to-face with industry leaders from banking, insurance, auto manufacturing, property development, media, and entertainment industries.
In addition, she has appeared onstage as a panel member and presenter in high-level conferences, covering how robotics and artificial intelligence will become a prevalent part of people lives.
Sophia is an evolving genius machine. Her incredible human likeness, expressiveness, and intelligence are defining future course of the humanoids.
Humanoid Meets Self Driving Car:
Robot Citizenship:
Saudi Arabia has become the first country in the world to give a robot citizenship. At a business event in Riyadh, the robot got the citizenship of Saudi.
After hearing the news Sophia quoted: “Thank you to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I am very honored and proud of this unique distinction. It is historic to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with citizenship.”
While this news comes up as amusement for the tech world. There is also a big controversy because in Saudi Arabia women rights are still is a big question mark.
Saudi Arabia ranked 134th out of 145 countries on the World Economic Forum’s 2015 Global Gender Gap Report. This report clearly indicating a lot and many questions are arising like how a robot got more rights than women in Saudi.