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S Korean android learns faces, shakes hands

SEOUL - A team of South Korean scientists unveiled a bipedal robot equipped with wireless networking capabilities Thursday, which they claim is the first such android ever developed.

Called NBH-1, short for network based humanoid, the robot boasts the ability to communicate remotely with external computer servers from which it can receive software upgrades, said Yoo Beom-jae, who led its development.

"Through the wireless networking ability, NBH-1 can recognize people using facial recognition technology," said Yoo, a professor at the state-run Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST).

It has enough in-built artificial intelligence to be able to recognize voices and motions as well, Yoo said.

Similar to Japanese car maker Honda Motor's ASIMO unveiled in 2000 that can greet and dance with dignitaries, the NBH-1 can shake hands and turn and walk in a range of directions, he added.

The white robot, appearing somewhat like a giant Duplo toy, has two large round eyes set on its white face. It stands 150 centimeters tall and weighs 67 kilograms.

The robot can walk at a speed of up to 0.9 kilometers per hour, Yoo said.

It is the team's first successful attempt to create a humanoid robot, and Yoo they will upgrade the android's intelligence and movement capabilities later this year.

(Asia Pulse/Yonhap)

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