‘Emotionally expressive humanoid robot’ flying in to eyeball New Zealanders next month
Developers hope ‘Sophia’ will some day serve in healthcare, therapy and customer service
By Frances Cook
A robot billed as “the most emotionally expressive humanoid robot on the planet” is coming to New Zealand.
The visit is for the Morgo entrepreneurs conference being held at Waitangi in the Bay of Islands from August 31.
Ben Goertzel, Chief Scientist for Hanson Robotics, is now confirmed as the keynote speaker, and will bring along lifelike robot Sophia to show what can be achieved.
Goertzel said Sophia was “the most emotionally expressive humanoid robot on the planet.”
The team hope that with a few more years of development robots like her could become as conscious, creative, and capable as humans.
“We are designing these robots to serve in healthcare, therapy, education and customer service applications,” he said.