Can you imagine Kate Upton in a lab coat, working on a rocket? Probably not. Some ladies are just born to be models, but then again, fine ladies like Upton probably played with Barbie dolls, not Little Sophia, when she was a kid. If she had Little Sophia, who knows? Things might turn out differently. Might. So what exactly is Little Little Sophia anyways? Well, for starter, Sophia is NOT a doll; it is a robot. She is the little sister of Hanson Robotics’ Sophia the Robot.
From what I see, Sophia is toddler, but a very, very smart one, just like her humanoid sister. Hanson Robotics designed Little Sophia with the goal of introducing STEM to little girls. Standing at an adorable 14 inches (about 36 centimeters) tall, Little Sophia is described as “a new kind of STEM, AI and coding learning companion for ages 7-13.” So, grown men and women, run along. There’s nothing for you folks here. BUT you are welcome to get this robot companion for your kids.
As a robot, she walk, talk, sing, play games and even crack jokes. Your child can ask Little Sophia questions too and with the included software and tutorials, your little ones can pick up coding instead of learning about vanity. But that really is life choices. I am sure not every kids will adore Little Sophia, but hey, if you never let them try, you will never know. Little Sophia boasts humanoid features, including a skin-like surface, which is kind of eery even though the look is clearly doll-like.
Speaking of which, Little Sophia is the first consumer-ready robot with a face that resembles a human and mind you, it is not just the human face she has there; this young robot lady here is capable of a wide range of facial expressions too. If that’s not enough, she also makes eye contact, as well as able to recognize facial cues. And no, she does not appear to have hair (she’s bald with the rear of the head transparent like her sister). Well, I guess you could say it runs in the family.
At just $149, I am honestly surprised that Little Sophia hasn’t got more backers on Kickstarter. Then again, it has only been a week or so since the campaign starter and already, Little Sophia has breached its funding goal of $75K with nearly 900 backers behind it.
Images: Hanson Robotics.
Source: dezeen.
