'Robot goddess' Jia Jia: Most realistic ever, doesn't like a bad selfie

The rise of humanoids is now unstoppable.

The divide between humans and robots is narrowing. As humans add prosthetic and exoskeletons to our bodies, robots are looking more like humans, complete with eyelashes and skin.

The latest robot to bridge that divide is Jia Jia, from China. Built by a team from the University of Science and Technology of China, Jia Jia can respond to questions, with facial expressions to boot.

Jia Jia can move her arms, make different facial expressions, and respond to human conversation.

The robot is a product of three years' work by a team lead by Chen Xiaoping and his colleagues of China in Hefei, greeted the assembled audience at her unveiling by saying: "Hello everyone, I'm Jia Jia. Welcome!"

Xiaoping said hello to his robot goddess, which immediately responded, 'Yes my lord, what can I do for you?'

It took the team three years to complete the robot, which can speak, show micro-expressions, move its lips and body, yet seems to hold its head in a submissive manner.

The humanoid is programmed to recognize human/machine interaction, has autonomous position, navigation and offers services based on cloud technology.

Jia Jia's limited motion and stilted speech shouldn't leave anyone in any doubt she's a robot.

However, she looks fairly realistic, with a flexible plastic face, long flowing brown hair, and an eye-catching gold dress.

Taking a selfie with Jia Jia can be a tricky affair, as it (or she?) will chide you if the angle makes her face appear too big.

"Don't come too close to me when you are taking a picture. It will make my face look fat," she says robotically.

For all her vanity and artificial intelligence, Jia Jia still appears to be quite stiff.

Despite looking nearly indistinguishable from humans, her robotic voice is a giveaway although solving these superficial factors should not be too difficult.

The unveiling of Jia Jia comes in the wake of other advances in robots from the Far East, which is home to robots like Erica from Japan, and Mark 1, a Scarlett Johansson-lookalike from Hong Kong.

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