Robots that can serve as waiters are demonstrated during the World Robot Conference in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 23, 2015. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)
They can help with the housework and even kick around a football, but robots aren't coming for your jobs just yet.
That was the reassurance from robot experts gathered at an international conference that kicked off in Beijing on Monday. The three-day event includes a forum, an exhibition and a robot contest for youth.
A human-like "female" robot named Genminoid F became the queen of the event.
With long silken black hair falling over her shoulder, the attractive android, who appeared to be in her early 20s, was sitting in the exhibition hall and answering questions from a Xinhua reporter in a smooth, natural voice.
"I like Beijing very much," it said.
"I'm an emotional robot from Japan. I can talk, sing and dance. And I'm a good listener," she said, looking satisfied by the shock on the audience's face when they were told she was not a real human.
"I wish I could marry her!" one visitor said jokingly.
A robot football game was also held at the event. Robot cleaners, robots that wipe glass, deliver food, teach infants and help the handicapped were all exhibited.
Decades after the first working robot was invented in 1961, "we are now in a new era of robotics," said Arturo Baroncelli, president of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
According to Baroncelli's estimation, some 1.5 million robots are in use in factories worldwide, with the total number poised to reach 2.3 million in the next three years.
Robotics scientists envision a future where robots will look like human beings that can listen, see, talk and identify different environments. They will also have memories that allow them to think and make decisions.
But is it possible?
Although robotics are far from entering people's everyday life, scientists estimate that mankind will one day create robots with language, expressions and even thought.
