New York, NY, April 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanson Robotics (www.hansonrobotics.com), creator of the world’s most humanlike social robots, is pleased to announce they have received the prestigious Gold Medal of the 2018 Edison Best New Product Award™ for Sophia (www.sophiabot.com). Finalists were chosen as the "best of the best" by a panel of more than 3,000 leading business executives including past award winners, academics and leaders in the fields of product development, design, engineering, science and medical. Sophia was picked as the top winner in Robotics among contenders in the Applied Technology category.
Sophia is Hanson Robotics’ most advanced humanoid robot character --created by combining breakthrough in science, engineering, AI, and artistry. Designed with a proprietary material called “FrubberTM”, Sophia is expressive, empathetic, and can hold natural conversations with people. She leads Hanson’s greater mission to make an impact on humanity through the development of intelligent, empathetic robots and benevolent AI.
Being recognized with a Gold Edison Award has become one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of innovation and business. Since 1987, the Edison Awards™ have recognized and honored some of the most innovative new products, services and business leaders in the world. Award winners represent "game changing" products and services, as well as excellence and leadership in innovation around four criteria: Concept, Value, Delivery, and Impact.
"We are truly honored to have received the Gold award for Sophia in the Robotics category,” states Dr. David Hanson, CEO and Founder of Hanson Robotics. “With Sophia, we strive to build embodied character intelligence that pushes AI research further, faster, while also connecting AI with humans at deeper emotional levels than previously possible. We fully commit to our quest to bring robots like Sophia ever more to life, to help people in myriad ways - from healthcare to science, from entertainment to education, and beyond.”
“Our judges recognized Hanson Robotics as a true innovator out of the many products in its category,” said Frank Bonafilia, executive director of the Edison Awards.
The awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) whose inventions, new product development methods and innovative achievements literally changed the world, garnered him 1,093 U.S. patents, and made him a household name around the world.
For more information about Hanson Robotics, please visit www.hansonrobotics.com.
About Hanson Robotics
Hanson Robotics develops the world’s most human-like robots, endowed with remarkable expressiveness, aesthetics and interactivity. The company and its founder, Dr. David Hanson, have built a worldwide reputation for creating robots that look and act genuinely alive and have received massive media and public acclaim. The company aims to make a positive impact through the development of intelligent, empathetic robots that can learn, teach, entertain, and help solve critical challenges. These interactions will, over time, enable the company’s AI to learn “how to be human,” trained by relationships with human beings. The company envisions that one day its AI and robots will be able to address and solve some of the most challenging problems of the times. For more information go to www.hansonrobotics.com.
About the Edison Awards™
The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering future innovators. The Awards have been recognizing and honoring the best in innovations and innovators since 1987. They honor game-changing innovations that are at the forefront of new product and service development, marketing and human-centered design, and are one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of successful innovation. For more information about the Edison Awards complete program and a list of past winners, visit www.edisonawards.com.