Robots are bound to take over everyday routine jobs of humans - from customer service to engineers and lawyers. Now there's a creepy real-life robot that's dedicated to being a leading TV news anchor in Japan.
Meet Erica, A Robot Passionate About The News
Meet Erica, she is described as a beautiful 23-year-old girl, who is warm and caring, and may even soon have an independent consciousness, says her father and creator, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Director of Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University.
She's also 166 cm tall and is a mix of Japanese-European. Ishiguro claims, Erica is the "most beautiful and intelligent" humanoid in the world.
Like most teenagers, Erica also has a sense of humor and can tell jokes, though, her jokes are still a bit awkward and not that funny. She's also so real-life like that she could even have a soul.
He's also teaching Erica how to develop a sense of compassion as that plays a part in journalists' ability to relate to people in the news.
Erica has also proved she can read off teleprompters while sitting behind the newsdesk, making her a perfect candidate for being a TV news anchor. Erica's not ready for her primetime spot on a major news network just yet but could make her debut as soon as Spring.
When she was much younger, she wanted to be a receptionist, but later developed more aspirations of becoming a TV news anchor.
Ishiguro Has Created Other Humanoid Robots
This isn't the first news and storyteller robot that Ishiguro has created. He's been known to make other humanoid robots with lifelike expressions, similar to real people. He built an android version of himself, a middle-aged man, called the Geminoid HI-1. Ishiguro's robotic twin had the ability to track his mouth movements along with being able to speak his voice, or at least try to mimic it. He was able to make such a realistic humanoid of himself by using silicone molds in the shape of his own body,
In addition, Ishiguro created two robots: a news anchor called Kodomoroid and another robot Otonaroid, both which had a home at the Miraikan National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, back in 2014.
Kodomoroid had the ability to recite the news and weather reports from around the world, while Otonaroid participated as a guide in the museum.
