Androids, Inc.: Robots That Look Like Humans

Mere telephone calls aren't good enough? Video calls don't push the envelope far enough? Japanese researchers may have just what you need: a life-size robot that speaks, moves, and blinks your phone calls at you. Called the Telenoid R1, the robot has sensors to transmit the movements and sounds of your caller and motors that can replicate them locally. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/08/02/japan-introduces-life-size-robot-phone/"><b>Read more</b></a> (YouTube)

She's Octavia, a brand new robot designed to improve interactions with humans. And at the annual Fleet Week in New York City, the Navy brought its débutante out of the lab. Just don't ask her to dance. The robot's main mission will be to support and work closely with humans. She's designed to communicate clearly about her goals and abilities, collaborate to solve problems and interact with naval staff. Perhaps that explains the robot's looks. <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/05/26/octavia-navy-onr-robot/"><b>Read more</b></a>. (ONR)

Baby album of the future? Noby, short for "nine-month-old baby," measures 28 inches and 17 pounds. It has 600 sensors for touch, cameras for vision, microphones for hearing, urethane skin and flexible joints.

A "caregiver" holds up the baby-bot Noby, the same size as an actual nine-month-old child. (Science and Technology Agency (JST))

Developed at Osaka University's Graduate School of Engineering to study learning, the M3-Kindy has a very expressive face -- for a robot. The name M3 comes by shortening "man-made-man," noted the researchers. It weighs about 60 pounds, and is the approximate size of a five-year-old child. (Science and Technology Agency (JST) )

Both Noby and M3-Kindy were designed to help scientists better understand human development. The two bots are part of the "M3 series" of the JST Erato Asada Project.

Typically, robots operate solely for functionality, as does the bot in this photo.  Androids, however, are designed to be more humanistic. Farmer Wu Yulu, 48, operates his walking robot near his home in a village at the outskirts of Beijing April 14, 2010. Hobby inventor Wu, who started to build robots in 1986, has invented 47 robots that can perform different functions like jumping, painting, drinking, pulling carts, massaging and helping with cooking. (REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic)

Standard humanoid robots mimic the human form, but robot mechanisms don't accurately reflect those in humans, and robots are poor copies because of it. The Eccerobot consortium is developing this <i>anthropomimetic</i> robot Cronos, with inner structures that mimic those of a human being. (Eccerobot)

The HPR-4C "Fashion Model Robot" measures 5 feet and 95 pounds. It -- or should we say she? -- was developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan. (AP)

The robotic fashion model uses 8 facial motors and 30 motors throughout its body. It's worth an estimated $200,000. (AP)

HPR-4C struts "her" stuff at a press conference in Tsukuba, near Tokyo. (AP)

Developers describe the robot's primary function as entertainment; as a fashion model, the she-bot is short, and as a house-hold aid, it's technologically weak. However, its lifelike features could serve as an attraction for events and amusement parks. (AFP)

Aiko is a "gynoid" robot whose creation began in 2007 by Le Trung.  "She" operates using BRAINS software -- Bio Robot Artificial Intelligence Neural System.   (ProjectAiko.com)

Project Aiko's mottos include "one step closer to reality" and "when science meets beauty." (ProjectAiko.com)

Aiko's BRAINS software collects and stores information as the robot operates. This information can be removed from the bot, stored, and shared. The system also works with other robots, including Kondo KHR2. (ProjectAiko.com)

Le Trung claims "Project EVE" is next to come... (ProjectAiko.com)

May 16: I-Fairy, a four-foot tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails, wearing a wreath of flowers, directs a wedding ceremony for groom Tomohiro Shibata, 42, and bride Satoko Inouye, 36, at a Tokyo restaurant Sunday.  The wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co. (AP )

May 16: Bride Satoko Inouye, 36, puts a ring on a finger of her groom Tomohiro Shibata 42, as I-Fairy, a four-foot tall seated robot, wearing a wreath of flowers, directs their wedding ceremony at a Tokyo restaurant Sunday.  (AP )

May 16: I-Fairy, left, a four-foot tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails, directs a wedding ceremony for groom Tomohiro Shibata 42, and bride Satoko Inouye, 36, at a Tokyo restaurant Sunday.  (AP )

Robonaut2 -- or R2 for short -- is the next generation dexterous robot, developed through a Space Act Agreement by NASA and General Motors. It's designed to aid astronauts on the International Space Station.  (NASA)

NASA and General Motors have come together to develop this next-generation dexterous humanoid robot. The robots -- called Robonaut2 -- were designed to use the same tools as humans, which allows them to work safely side-by-side humans on Earth and in space. (NASA/JSC)

Robonaut2 surpasses previous dexterous humanoid robots in strength, yet it is safe enough to work side-by-side with humans. It is able to lift, not just hold, this 20-pound weight (about four times heavier than what other dexterous robots can handle) both near and away from its body. (NASA/JSC)