Meet Geminoid DK, a Geminoid-F series android, and the first humanoid robot of its kind to leave Japan. It is also the most human-looking android I have ever seen (sorry Star Trek fans - Data doesn't count).
That's right folks - that's an android in the picture above.
The Geminoid series of androids was created by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory in the the Department of Adaptive Machine Systems at Osaka University. The original version, Repliee Q1Expo was created in 2005. Though older, Repliee Q1Expo is actually a much more complicated version of Geminoid-K, as it can respond to human interactions such as touch.
The Geminoid-F is controlled through a computer system designed to mimic the movements of the android's human counterpart. It does not have an artificial intelligence of it's own, and does not have voice interaction yet. However, it is the simplicity of the Geminoid-F model that made it affordable for purchase by Aalborg University's Henrik Sharfe. Once shipped back to Denmark, the robot will be used to study questions about identity, humanity, and presence, as well as the cultural differences in perception of robots and robotic technology.
If you head on over to this site you can see a video of this thing opening and closing it's mouth, moving it's head, and even breathing. That's right - breathing. Pretty amazing stuff, and I look forward to seeing the future uses and possibilities for this technology in the future. Imagine teaching children on the autism spectrum to better interact socially using androids like these. I see a world of possibilities here.
creepy would have been cool tho if they used this for Watson's avatar on jeopardy
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