From October 26 to November 3, 2024, the Mercedes-Benz Museum will host “Andrea,” a humanoid robot developed by the Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart (HdM). Andrea, with lifelike movements and facial expressions, can converse in eight languages and will interact with visitors during the eight-day exhibit.
Sitting in the museum’s Legend Room 6, the robot is designed to blur the line between human and machine, turning its head, moving its arms and fingers, and responding to questions in a neutral, androgynous form.
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The robot’s appearance at the museum is part of an HdM research project on human-robot interaction. For about two years, HdM has studied Andrea’s interactions, exploring how humanoid robots can engage with their environment.
The Mercedes-Benz Museum offers an ideal setting to conduct visitor surveys, providing insights into how people respond to human-like robots in a controlled environment.
Andrea, originally from Japan, was first introduced in December 2022 at the Hochschule der Medien. The robot is part of the Humanoid Lab at the Institute for Applied Artificial Intelligence (IAAI) and is capable of 52 upper-body movements, including 13 facial expressions.
Designed to challenge perceptions of gender in robotics, Andrea aims to make artificial intelligence more tangible and interactive, using AI-generated synthetic speech to communicate naturally with visitors.
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