A humanoid robot developed by Japanese scientists is to star in a $70 million budget Hollywood film.
The name of the robot is Erica, and it was created by famed humanoid roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro, along with fellow scientist Kohei Ogawa.
The two creators are said to have programmed Erica in the art of “method acting”, in which an actor aspires to complete emotional identification with a part.
Given that Erica has no emotions of her own, she would have to rely on the algorithm integrated into her operation to simulate whatever emotions are required.
The film Erica will star in is simply called b, and is being backed by Bondit Capital Media, which previously financed titles including Oscar-nominated Loving Vincent.
Hollywood Reporter says the film’s story is about a scientist who discovers dangers associated with a program he created to perfect human DNA and helps the artificially intelligent woman he designed – Erica – escape.
The story was developed by Eric Pham, Tarek Zohdy, and Sam Khoze.
As quoted by Hollywood Reporter, Khoze says: “In other methods of acting, actors involve their own life experiences in the role.
“But Erica has no life experiences. She was created from scratch to play the role. We had to simulate her motions and emotions through one-on-one sessions, such as controlling the speed of her movements, talking through her feelings and coaching character development and body language.”
Erica’s debut film is expected to finish filing next year. The robot has already been used for newscasting in China and Japan.
