Robotics genius and creator of ‘Sophia’ the robot
Asia
Hong Kong
David Hanson builds robots. As the CEO of Hanson Robotics, David combines his creative, artistic side with science, engineering, and culture, building robots that interact with people. Designed to be natural-looking, his robots can generate intelligent conversation while provoking questions of existence, consciousness, and reality. David’s dream is that, due to his research, his robots will one day truly waken and match human intelligence, and, in so doing, reinvent themselves exponentially and surpass human intelligence.
Sophia the Robot is probably David’s most well-known robot thus far, combining breakthrough work in robotics, AI, and artistry. Sophia has more than sixty different facial expressions, is expressive and empathetic, and can hold natural conversations. She spearheads his mission to develop intelligent, sympathetic robots.
Sophia has become a firm media favorite, and together with David Hanson, has made numerous guest appearances and interviews. Amongst these, they include CBS 60 Minut4es with Charlie Show, the cover of ELLE Magazine Brazil, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and many more. Besides her media appearances and interviews, Sophia is an Innovation Champion for the United Nations Development Programme UNDP). The programme’s aim is to achieve sustainable development by means of technology and innovation.
Sophia is also a keen communicator and has attended numerous key global events including NATO and the World Economic Forum. As a speaker, Sophia has a passion for communicating about the role of robotics and AI in people’s lives. To this end, she regularly appears on-stage as a panel member, speaker, and presenter at key industry events.
Besides Sophia, he has also created another highly-interactive robot dubbed Einstein. David Hanson believes in the need of creating robots who are empathetic towards humanity
“This moment is the Kitty Hawk of androids. We’re seeing the arrival of conversational robots that can walk in our world. It’s a golden age of invention.” — David Hanson, in TIME
David’s robots serve in many fields across the globe, including research in the medical, psychological, autistic, and AI research fields.
David Hanson, who started out as a Walt Disney Imagineer, has become an entrepreneur and roboticist who has been labeled a ‘genious’ by both WIREDand PC Magazine. He is also a multiple award winner, including amongst these awards from NASA, NSF, and Cooper Hewitt Design Museum.
Besides the many publications David has written or been involved in writing, he, and Sophia, are avid speakers on all things related to the field of robotics.
Speaking Topics
“It is a pleasure to work with someone that understands every aspect of the projects that we work on and will help at the drop of a hat. The work environment is top notch and I would recommend any of my colleagues to seek employment at Hanson. Working with David, I can say that we have made great strides toward the future of robotics in a very short time. His skills as a leader, sculptor, friend, idealist, and designer are top notch. I am proud to be associated with him.”
“I’ve hosted some of the world’s best-known names as coordinator of DePaus’ Ubben Lecture Series, but I’m not certain any of them had the impact that David Hanson and Sophia left on our campus. Dr. Hanson is both brilliant and compelling, and has the added bonus of being a terrifically nice person. And the subject matter – the future that is coming at us faster every day – is fascinating, David and Sophia packed the house and audience members could be overheard talking about what they heard and learned on the way out of the venue. The program also brought some terrific media attention to the university. In 2018 it’s very difficult to find a program that is captivating yet doesn’t risk alienating a segment of the audience – this is a home run. We all live in this world, and it seems we have company arriving soon – it’s a lot to ponder and an incredibly thought provoking message to present to our group.”
“I found him to be extremely creative, forward thinking with a tenacious appetite for exploratory research and discovery. His designs pushed the envelope of expectation and his talent across multiple disciplines served him well at WDI.”
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