Japanese engineers have created a female android that's an exact replica of a woman while being cheaper and more compact than earlier models, bringing the futuristic world of the film "Surrogates" closer to reality.

The Geminoid F is an air servo-powered, remote-operated talking humanoid with eye, mouth, head, and shoulder mobility. She was designed by Osaka University's Hiroshi Ishiguro, ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, and Kokoro, a Tokyo-based entertainment firm. Copies of Geminoid are to go on sale for about $110,000, Ishiguro was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.

Geminoid F (F stands for "female") is a replica of an unnamed model, a woman in her twenties at right in the photo (see more pics here).

The robot is designed to mimic human behavior and possibly serve in roles like receptionist, museum guide, or patient attendant in hospitals, according to Kokoro. She's slated to begin patient communication trials at the University of Tokyo Hospital in May. Kokoro says patients have already reacted favorably.

Compared with Ishiguro's first Geminoid HI-1 robot, in which he replicated himself in android form, Geminoid F has fewer servomotors (only 12 compared with HI-1's 46), meaning it was significantly cheaper to produce.

Kokoro wants to sell 50 Geminoid Fs to museums and hospitals, according to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. It has already offered to produce customized android clones to the public for about $225,000 apiece.

The latest Geminoid also downsizes the system, incorporating the air servo valves and control system into the android itself, and runs off a household power supply. It will still use a small external air compressor.

Cameras and face-tracking software follow the remote operator's behavior, allowing the android to mimic its user in a sort of master-slave relationship via Internet link. Geminoid can't walk, though, and giving locomotion to a robot running on an air servo system is a major challenge.

Geminoid F's female appearance and more natural smile with lifelike teeth are designed to put people at ease. In a reflection of Kokoro's plans to market the system overseas, the model on which Geminoid is based is one-quarter non-Japanese, ostensibly giving her a more universal look. The robot is also quite fashionable, sporting duds by designer Junko Koshino.

At a press conference in Osaka, Geminoid spoke to reporters and demonstrated how she can be remote-controlled. "It feels like I'm over there speaking to you," her model said, speaking through the android.

No doubt it will take time for people to get used to Geminoids if they ever become a viable product. When I attended the unveiling of the first generation back in 2006, I spoke to Ishiguro through his clone. Conversing with the doppelganger was a bizarre sensation, but I felt compelled to maintain eye contact with the android while chatting.

We're neurologically hardwired to react to these puppets as though they're human beings. Once they start walking around, things will get very interesting.

相关中文报道（摘自博客园）

日本大阪大学智能机器人学教授石黑浩带领的科研小组开发出可模仿人类表情的女性替身机器人，并于4月3日在大阪市公开展示。

这个名叫"GeminoidTMF"的机器人以一位日本年轻女性为原型，坐着时高140厘米，重量大约为30千克。在12个控制器的作用下，她可以同步模仿真人的表情。通过一个表情遥控器，你可以让她时而露齿微笑，时而眉头紧皱。"我感觉自己有了个双胞胎姐妹似的，"被模仿的女孩表示。石黑浩教授说："机器人可以代替自己去比较远的地方，今后也许还能一起吃饭，一起恋爱。" 研究人员表示，他们希望机器人能够真正融入人们的生活当中。他们还表示，或许有一天机器人能够让我们相信他们本身就是活生生的人。"现在一个机器人可能让我们在5到10秒钟里这么想(认为它是活生生的人)。"

据了解，此款机器人定价约1千万日元(约合人民币70万元)。除了可以为患者或老人提供精神方面的护理外，这种机器人还有望用于博物馆等场所。