An android is a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human. It is not just a work of science but also a work of art. Some are designed to interact with the human environment and while some are for experimental purpose.

In the past, androids existed only in fiction, thanks to writers like Isaac Asimov. But today, androids are real, thanks to Influential people like Hiroshi Ishiguro, Cynthia Breazeal and David Hanson. Androids have been praised among individuals such as Hiroshi Ishiguro who believes they have a soul. But, people like Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and myself are also concerned about its threats to humanity.

Some androids can do human-like movements like blinking, breathing and fidgeting with his hands and some have a talent such as singing. It should also be noted that some present-day androids are not artificially intelligent, some are controlled by remote and it is common for them to provide a certain response based on particular keywords.

Types of android

These words are derived from an English, Latin or Japanese Prefix and the suffix ‘ion’ which means like or resemblance.

• GYNOID are female android. Notable Gynoid include; Geminoid F, EveR and Sophia. Gyn is derived from the word gynecologist, a specialist in diseases and hygiene of women.

EveR

• KODOMOID: Kodomo is the Japanese word for child. Kodomoid are robots designed to appear as young human.

• OTONAROID: Otona is the Japanese word for adult. Otonaroid are adult-like androids.

• ACTROID is a type of android with strong visual human-likeness developed by Osaka University and manufactured by Kokoro Company Ltd. It looks just like a human being with an overwhelming realism and ultimate functions of expression abilities.

Actroid

• GEMINOID: These are androids designed to look and behave just like an original individual. It is derived from the latin word Geminae which means twin. This include: Geminoid HI-1 which is an avatar of Hiroshi Ishiguro and Geminoid F, the first robot to star in a Japanese movie. it is developed by Osaka University and ATR under the supervision of Hiroshi Ishiguro.

L-R: Model, Geminoid F, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Geminoid HI-1, Prof. Henrik Scharfe and Geminoid DK

• TELENOIDS are robots used for representing and transmitting humanlike presence. It is used to transmit audio and movement of a person as messages over a long distance which will be expressed by the robot.

• ELFOIDS are very small and mobile androids with most being about the size of a cellular phone. Elf is an English word for a supernatural creature of folk tales, typically represented as a small, delicate, elusive figure in human form.

Elfoid

Please leave a comment on any suggestion or types not listed. What do you also think about having android as your neighbor or co-worker?

Image credit goes to wikipedia.org and geminoid.jp