Sophia the robot

Sophia the robot was activated on February 14, 2016. Sophia was created by David Hanson from Hanson Robotics. Sophia is known for her human-like appearance and behaviour compared to previous robotic variants. Sophia’s AI combines cutting-edge work in symbolic AI, neural networks, expert systems, machine perception, conversational natural language processing, adaptive motor control and cognitive architecture among others. As Sophia’s underlying AI components can be combined in different ways, her responses can be unique to any given situation or interaction. She also utilizes cutting edge machine perception that allows her to recognize human faces, see emotional expressions, and recognize various hand gestures. She can estimate your feelings during a conversation, and she has her own emotions too, roughly simulating human evolutionary psychology.

Hanson designed Sophia to be a suitable companion for the elderly at nursing homes, or to help crowds at large events or parks. He has said that he hopes that the robot can ultimately interact with other humans sufficiently to gain social skills. He also said that Sophia would ultimately be a good fit to serve in healthcare, customer service, therapy and education.

On October 11, 2017, Sophia was introduced to the United Nations with a brief conversation with the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General. On October 25, 2017, at the Future Investment Summit in Riyadh, Sophia was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, becoming the first robot ever to have a nationality. On December 15, 2018, Sophia was appointed a Belt and Road Innovative Technology Ambassador by China.

On Feb 27, 2019 at the “New Era, New Education, and Creating the Future” conference in Shanghai, organized by iTutorGroup, Dr Eric Yang, CEO and founder of iTutorgroup, announced that Sophia the Robot is their new ambassador and future AI tutor. A new strategic partnership with Hanson Robotics was also announced. Hanson Robotics and iTutorGroup are looking forward to helping shape and revolutionize the future of education through AI, technology and e-learning — shifting from standardization to personalization at the same time.