An android is a robot designed to resemble a human, usually both in appearance and behavior. The word derives from ανδρός, the genitive of the Greek ανήρ anēr, meaning "man", and the suffix -eides, used to mean "of the species; alike" (from eidos, "species"). Though the word derives from a gender-specific root, its usage in English is usually gender neutral; the female counterpart, gynoid, is generally used only when the female gender is a distinguishing trait of the robot. The term was first mentioned by St. Albertus Magnus in 1270 and was popularized by the French writer Villiers in his 1886 novel L'Ève future, although the term "android" appears in US patents as early as 1863 in reference to miniature humanlike toy automations.

Thus far, androids have largely remained within the domain of science fiction, frequently seen in film and television. However, some humanoid robots now exist.

Android projects

As of August 2007, a handful of android projects have been successfully completed.

Canadian projects

Project Aiko of Canada has created an android portrait of a female person. Using the B.R.A.I.N.S. software (Biometric Robot Artificial Intelligence Neural System), they have created one of the most unusual androids. The android is called "Aiko", which has a silicon body. Aiko is the first android to mimic pain and the ability to learn and avoid pain. In addition, Aiko has speech, voice, face, and object recognition. It can also solve math problems displayed to her visually. It is also capable of learning new information from the environment. It is hoped that Aiko can walk in the near future.

Japanese projects

The Intelligent Mechatronics Lab, directed by Kobayashi at the Science University of Tokyo, has developed an android head called Saya, which was exhibited at Robodex 2002 in Yokohama, Japan. There are several other initiatives around the world involving humanoid research and development at this time, which will hopefully introduce a broader spectrum of realized technology in the near future. Now Saya is working at the Science University of Tokyo as a guide.

The Waseda University (Japan) and NTT Docomo's manufacturers have succeeded in creating a shape-shifting robot WD-2. It is capable of changing its face. At first, the creators decided the position of the necessary points to express the outline, eyes, nose, and so on of a certain person. The robot expresses his/her face by moving all points to the decided positions, they say. The first version of the robot was first developed back in 2003. After that, a year later, they did a couple of major improvements in the design. The robot features an elastic mask made from the average head dummy. It uses a driving system with a 3DOF unit. The WD-2 robot can change its facial features by activating specific facial points on a mask, with each point possessing three degrees of freedom. This one has 17 facial points, for a total of 56 degrees of freedom. As for the materials they used, the WD-2's mask is fabricated with a highly elastic material called Septom, with bits of steel wool mixed in for added strength. Other technical features reveal a shaft driven behind the mask at the desired facial point, driven by a DC motor with a simple pulley and a slide screw. Apparently, the researchers can also modify the shape of the mask based on actual human faces. To "copy" a face, they need only a 3D scanner to determine the locations of an individual's 17 facial points. After that, they are then driven into position using a laptop and 56 motor control boards. In addition, the researchers also mention that the shifting robot can even display an individual's hair style and skin color if a photo of their face is projected onto the 3D mask.