Japanese robotics researcher Hiroshi Ishiguro is continuing his quest to build androids that look and behave as close to human as possible. After creating an android copy of his young daughter, a TV celebrity and himself, earlier today he announced that he has created a new state-of-the-art android called Geminoid F.

The new android is a clone of a 20-year old female model both in appearance and behavior. It has been designed using new actuation methods that allow for a larger number of facial expressions to be displayed using less hardware. According to the press release,

The humanoid robot “Geminoid HI-1” which has previously been developed by ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories (ATR-IRC) has a complicated body structure with 46-degree-of-freedom. In contrast, the newly-developed Geminoid F has minimum degrees of freedom required for tele-operation and has been designed to re-create more natural facial expressions like smiling. By limiting the number of moving parts, development cost was significantly reduced. In addition, wide applications in practical scenes can be expected by adopting the appearance of a more friendly woman. 

It all sounds good on paper but what does it look in real life? You can be the judge of Ishiguro's newest android after watching it in action in the the following video.



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