Many will have seen this in the news recently.... a Canadian former software engineer has reached the quite accomplishment in creating an "android."
The best way to get an understanding of how "Aiko" works is to watch a video on Youtube like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yomx7bXMf2U&feature=related
Some interesting facts...
- her vision/perception is good enough to be able to distinguish between a glass of coke and a glass of water. Can also distinguish between colors and different types of objects
- can solve math equations in the blink of an eye
- can sense pain
- can read in English and Japanese
Unfortunately Aiko's inventor has put a bit of a bullseye on himself for the type of questions you'd rather not be asked after an accomplishment like this... "Aiko" means "Love child" in Japanese.
The project website (http://www.projectaiko.com ) seems to be down right now.. I can only imagine the amount of traffic going its way right now.
Obviously there's still some work to be done to make the most realistic android possible, but what do people think about going down this road?