Humanoid robots are robots that resemble humans; that is, they have a physical body resembling human beings. They are also able to perform tasks that humans can perform. Humanoids also have a higher level of intelligence than other regular robots.
The modern robotic concept began to evolve with the onset of the industrial revolution, which enabled the use of complex mechanical energy and electricity. In the early 20th century, the notion of a humanoid machine emerged.Modern robots were first used in industries as industrial robots to do manufacturing jobs. Researchers have been working on these types of robots for many years, and as of now, there are many humanoids that work almost like actual humans.
1. Nadine
Modeled on Professor Nadia Magnenat Thalmann, Nadine is a humanoid robot. The robot has a strong human likeness with natural-looking skin and hair and realistic hands. Nadine is a socially intelligent robot that returns a greeting, makes eye contact, and can remember every conversation you’ve had with it. Nadine was manufactured in 2008 by Hanson Robotics.
2. Sophia
Sophia is probably one of the most famous humanoids ever and the first robot to get citizenship! Sophia is a citizen of Saudi Arabia. She was developed by Hanson Robotics, a company based in Hong Kong. Sophia recognizes human faces using Machine Perception and many other emotional expressions and hand gestures.
3. Erica
Erica is a humanoid robot created by Japanese scientists Hiroshi Ishiguro and Kohei Ogawa. She was designed to research the interactions between humans and robots. It understands natural language, has a synthesized human voice, and can display a variety of facial expressions. Erica has also been a news anchor on Japanese news channels.
4. Junko Chihira
Created by Toshiba, Junko Chihira is a very realistic looking humanoid. It can speak three languages – Japanese, Chinese and English.Junko Chihira is the successor to Aiko Chihira, a Toshiba android who worked as a receptionist in a Japanese department store. Aiki Chihira was created using technology pioneered by Hiroshi Ishiguro, a robotics researcher at Osaka University in Suita, Japan.
5. Jia Jia
China’s first-of-its-kind interactive robot not only resembles an actual human but can also interact with people around it. The humanoid robot, named Jia Jia, can recognize the facial expressions of others and respond with micro-expressions. It can even identify the gender of the person interacting with them. She is also called the robot goddess of China.
6. Vyommitra
Vyommitra, which means Space Friend, is a space-faring humanoid robot that resembles a female human developed by the Indian Space Research Organization to function aboard the Gaganyaan, a manned orbital spacecraft. It will travel into space with Indian astronauts and also take part in experimental Gaganyaan unmanned missions before manned space missions.
7. Han
Han is an expressive humanoid robot activated in 2015 and presented at the Global Sources Electronics Fair in Hong Kong the same year. He now resides at Hanson Robotics Headquarters in Science Park, Hong Kong. The robot was designed to recognize and imitate human expressions. It’s able to identify people using a range of cameras and voice-recognition technology and decipher their gender, age, and facial expressions or emotions.
8. Geminoid DK
Geminoid DK is another practical humanoid built by Hiroshi Ishiguro. Geminoid DK was created in 2011 to resemble roboticist Henrik Scharfe, a professor at Aalborg University in Denmark. Geminoid DK is a hyper-realistic robot developed to research human emotional responses to seeing an android that seems exactly like a human.
9. Actroid-Sit
Actroid is a form of android (humanoid robot) that was developed by Osaka University and commercialised by Kokoro Company Ltd (Sanrio’s Animatronics Division). It was first presented at the 2003 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.
10. Shalu
Robot Shalu is an artificially intelligent, multilingual, social, and educational self-built humanoid robot made from waste materials, capable of speaking 47 languages, developed by Dinesh Kunwar Patel, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Professor of Computer Science from Mumbai, India. The robot uses various Raspberry Pi and Arduino microcontrollers for the calculations. Open-source libraries such as TensorFlow and the Natural Language Toolkit were used to program the robot.
Did you enjoy reading this article? Share your opinions in the comment section below!
