South Korean scientists are trying to develop a walking android without making its legs so thick that it would no longer look like a human.
"It is relatively easy to make humanoids walk because they don't have to resemble humans, but things are different for androids intended to look human," a researcher at the Korean Institute of Technology told the Korea Times.
EveR-2, nicknamed Muse, is technically a gynoid, an android designed to look like a young Korean woman. Last year, EveR-2 demonstrated an ability to sing.
Researchers are split on how quickly a walking android can be developed. Institute researchers hope for victory this year or next, but other scientists say that walking could be a decade or more away.
Oh Jun-ho of the Korean Advanced Institute of Science and Technology made the first humanoid to move with a natural gait, Hubo.
"Humanoid researchers tend to think it is not a big deal to make a robot walk. In fact, it is a big deal,'' he said.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
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