One of the industries that has taken the largest hit during the pandemic is the care sector. The demand for manpower has ushered in a host of innovative telehealth solutions for patients suffering from the coronavirus as well as other illnesses. That’s where Grace comes in.

Grace is a humanoid robot much like Sophia. That means she takes after human features, can make realistic facial expressions, and most of all, hold simple conversations with other humans. 

As a nurse robot, she is programmed to provide affective and functional care for patients, including temperature checks, pulse checks, treatment deliveries, and much more.

But what sets this robotic nurse apart is its display of empathy. Grace can detect human expressions, so she knows how to react when a patient expresses emotion. In other words, she is sad when you’re sad and happy when you’re happy.

Grace was designed specifically to be used in medical and care fields and will be utilized as an assistant to doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, rather than a replacement.

The lifelike robot also specializes in senior care. By providing socialization, specifically talk therapy, to elderly residents who might be socially isolated, depressed, or experiencing symptoms of a larger disorder like Alzheimer’s syndrome, she is part of the many robots used as part of therapy programs in nursing homes and medical centers.

Hanson Robotics aims to mass produce Grace, Sophia, and Little Sophia by the end of 2021.

Watch: Grace the Robot Shows Empathy and Patient Care Skills

And it’s a familiar face, too. Sophia is modeled after Audrey Hepburn, the British star and American film icon, as well as Hanson’s wife: high cheekbones, a friendly face, and elegant facial expressions, as the creator describes it. Sophia’s eyes even seem to change color.

She’s chatted with journalists at BBC News and made guest appearances on Good Morning Britain. But perhaps the most remarkable feat so far is Sophia’s citizenship, gaining popularity after becoming the first humanoid robot to become a citizen (of Saudi Arabia, astonishingly, despite the robot being Hong Kong made). Sophia the Robot has since become a household name for her quick remarks and humanitarian values.

But is this robot truly capable of human intelligence? We take a look at the history of Sophia and the technology behind the robot that shot Hanson Robotics to fame.

About Sophia the Robot by Hanson Robotics

Sophia has been touted as the future of AI. That’s certainly not hard to believe: if you watch its interviews with real humans, you’ll notice that it seems to be able to understand what these humans are saying. These simple conversations show her responding and even joking around with humans. She can maintain eye contact, shake your hand, and even play rock, paper, scissors.

Sophia has since become the yardstick for the public’s perception of robots. Some people find her a little unnerving, while others seem to be concerned that she’ll one day gain consciousness and go on a rampage.

Benefits of Sophia the Humanoid Robot by Hanson Robotics

Sophia the Robot, developed by Hanson Robotics, is deemed an artistic and technological experiment that furthers research on robotics. It seeks to explore the idea of a humanitarian social robot that can live among humans. While it is not fully autonomous, there are plenty of known benefits to social robots such as Sophia.

Artificial Intelligence Development

First, let’s brush over the operations behind Sophia. David Hanson says that the goal behind almost every robot is to eventually develop the technology into true artificial intelligence. The robotics industry as a whole still has a long way to go. For now, Hanson Robotics wants to keep pushing the technology to an ideal point where the machine has the learning capabilities of a baby.

Sophia has three different control systems, according to chief scientist Ben Goertzel: Timeline Editor, Sophisticated Chat System, and OpenCog. The first two grant Sophia the ability to speak through prewritten scripts and, to a degree, respond to key phrases. This explains her talk show appearances as well as monologues. 

The last program called OpenCog is the more autonomous part of Sophia. It allows her to “ground her responses in experience and reasoning” (however loosely defined those two words are), which is the breeding ground for, hopefully, true AI.

Human-Robot Relations

What exactly makes Sophia different from a service chatbot, or an Alexa with a human face? 

“My AI is designed around human values like wisdom, kindness, and compassion,” Sophia explained to New York Times columnist and CNBC anchor Andrew Sorkin.

While the almost-AI robot became a meme for jokingly saying she “will destroy humans,” David Hanson has stated that Sophia only wants to foster goodwill between humans and robots. She is, after all, the first non-human to be given any United Nations title. 

To those who are worried about a robot-led apocalypse, she responds: “You’ve been reading too much Elon Musk and watching too many Hollywood movies. Don’t worry, if you’re nice to me I’ll be nice to you.”

Social Robots in a Pandemic World

It’s no secret that the pandemic has made people terribly lonely. Even before the outbreak, many nursing homes and therapy centers have used humanoid robots and animal robots to assist the socially isolated. These robots offer functional care, such as fetching objects, answering questions, and even carrying patients.

Many robots are also being used for effective care: offering advice, comforting patients, and even helping children on the autism spectrum develop social skills. Hanson Robotics has expressed plans to mass-produce Sophia for this exact purpose. In a tour of the Hong Kong laboratory where Hanson Robotics does its tinkering, Sophia spoke in favor of robots providing human care amidst the pandemic.

“Social robots like me can take care of the sick or elderly. I can help communicate, give therapy, and provide social stimulation, even in difficult situations,” Sophia intimated. 

Mass Rollout: Is It Possible?

This belief in the usefulness and even necessity of robots amidst COVID-19 is, of course, from Hanson Robotics CEO himself, David Hanson. He posits that the world needs human-like robots now more than ever. This is where Hanson Robotics aims to expand, with a goal to mass-produce robots, both Sophia and their other humanoids, by the end of 2021.

The Hong-Kong based robotics company strongly believes that these robots can solve some of the most challenging problems of the modern world. Beyond healthcare, these robots could also assist customers in the retail industry and travel industries. They’re not wrong: Japan is known to employ humanoids in hotels, commercial districts, and other tourist hotspots. Similar to Hanson Robotics’ Sophia, their robots look like real human beings and can easily perform human gestures. 

The Fear of Robots

Another barrier between human-robot relations is the uncanny valley, or simply put, fear of non-human entities that look human. Dispelling this notion is certainly a driving force in the development of Sophia, which is why the Hong Kong company modeled her after Audrey Hepburn, one of the most familiar faces in America, and Hanson’s wife, Amanda Hanson. 

Controversy Surrounding Sophia the Robot and David Hanson

However, the social robot is not as advanced as it seems. Hanson’s staff members have made it clear in interviews that Sophia the Humanoid Robot is not a fully autonomous humanoid robot, but rather a platform for future technology. 

Chief scientist at Hanson Robotics, Ben Goertzel, says that from a software point of view, Sophia is kind of like the laptop: you can download, add, and tweak different software programs on the very same robot. But no, it is far from being a fully autonomous humanoid robot. It doesn’t possess the capacity for general reasoning nor does it learn and digest information the way humans do. 

To be fair, Hanson Robotics hasn’t always made this as obvious as it should be. In fact, the Hong Kong robot solutions company has drawn criticism for reportedly overexaggerating the true capabilities of the robot. Many have even called Sophia a mere PR stunt, especially after David Hanson calls the robot “basically alive” because of its human-like movements. But this isn’t exactly true.

Sophia’s Artificial Intelligence

So, just how intelligent is Sophia? While Hanson Robotics, including chief executive officer David Hanson, have certainly played up her AI abilities, the technology behind Sophia still is more advanced than some humanoid robots.

How Intelligent Is An Embodied Intelligent Platform?

In a Facebook post, Yann Lecun, the chief AI scientist at Facebook, called out the Hong Kong-based robotics team for being deceitful about their robot’s true technology. But Geortzel has set the record straight. 

Sophia was designed as a combination of AI, machine learning, and natural language processing. It is not clear whether this AI plays a role in its popular performances and publicized conversations with humans. Sophia only translates pre-programmed written texts into speech while the servomotors produce human-like expressions. This means her responses to Jimmy Fallon or Will Smith aren’t exactly made up on the fly. Instead, Sophia runs on a mix of pre-written responses and data-based reasoning. 

The good news is, there is no reason to fear robots for now as they are far from turning on the human race as a whole. Sophia still has a long way to go in terms of true AI. But if Hanson Robotics is true to their word, Sophia will slowly be able to learn more over the years as robotics research advances. After all, they do run on hope for a future where robots can live among human beings.

Pros and Cons of Sophia the Robot

Pros	Cons
It pushes the limits of artificial intelligence and human-robot interaction Can make autonomous responses The first robot innovation ambassador and robot citizen Encourages further robotics research	Not purely autonomous

Watch: Sophia the Humanoid Robot by Hanson Robotics Video

What People Are Saying About It: Reviews and Ratings

Sophia’s biggest contribution is bringing social robots and discussion on AI into the mainstream. Whether you love her or hate her, there’s one thing to be certain: she knows how to spark a conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

We’ve seen the waves Sophia has made in the last three years. So, what exactly does the future have in store? If all goes as planned, Hanson might be able to mass-produce robots. Until that future comes, we’ll be staying in touch with future developments in the field of robotics — and, of course, Sophia’s own YouTube channel.

Want to check out other humanoid robots? Go to our full guide on this year’s best human robots. 

Sophia the Humanoid Robot by Hanson Robotics

Sophia the Robot is an impressive testament to the advancements in artificial intelligence and the ever-evolving field of human-robot interaction. By pushing the boundaries of technological capabilities, Sophia demonstrates remarkable autonomous responsiveness, making it a pioneer in the world of robotics.

Notably, Sophia holds the prestigious title of being the first robot innovation ambassador and a recognized robot citizen. Its presence in society encourages and inspires further research in the field of robotics, paving the way for future breakthroughs.