Taiwan unveils the ultimate robot

Taipei: Taiwan researchers have invented a robot that can act as a receptionist, tour guide, security guard and doctor's aide, the latest offering from an island seeking to make its name in the global robotics market.

The 60-kg interactive robot named Monica can film, then recognise people well enough to admit them into an office building or send an emergency text message to a human security guard, project leader Ren Luo said on Tuesday.

Sensory functions also allow it to interact remotely between doctors and patients, especially when a patient falls. Tourists could also use the 100-centimetre tall robot to give them directions.

"Within the robot community, this is pretty impressive because it can replace so many human functions," said Luo, a professor at National Taiwan University.

Long a powerhouse for personal computers, Taiwan is eyeing a share of the $18 billion (Dh66.06 billion) robotics market, taking on larger foreign rivals such as Japan as margins in the island's chip and PC industries come under pressure.

Taiwan aims to take a 7 per cent share of the global robotics market and exports worldwide, worth $7.8 billion by 2015, according to Taiwan's Precision Machinery Research & Development Centre.

Four university instructors, funded by $1.81 million from the Taiwan government, spent the past year building a pair of Monica robots, which powered up on Monday.

The researchers have already spoken with a manufacturer about mass producing Monica.