When you think of robots, you might think of Japan as well. The country’s association with robots is not surprising, especially when you consider companies like Sony creating robotic dogs like the AIBO, SoftBank’s Pepper, and how could we forget the countless anime and manga dedicated to robots, and let’s not forget the giant Gundam statue erected in Tokyo.
This is why we guess it wasn’t a complete shock to learn that in Japan, film-makers have recently cast a robot as the lead role in a movie called Sayonara. The film takes place in the aftermath of a deadly nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan. The robot, named Geminoid F, was designed to look and act like a human.
It will feature a rubber skin which has been sculpted to feature a woman’s face. The robot can smile, move her brows and her mouth, as well as “talk” and “sing”. This is thanks to motorised actuators that are powered by air pressure, thus giving the robot the ability to have facial expressions that are controlled from a laptop.
That being said, robots in film aren’t new. However for the most part they are usually seen as side-characters, like R2-D2 and C3PO in Star Wars, and are also usually acted out by humans dressed as a robot, or who act with robotic characteristics like Michael Fassbender in Prometheus. “Sayonara” will basically mark it as the first time a robot has actually been billed in the credits as being an actress.