China's realistic robot Jia Jia can chat with real humans

The University of Science and Technology of China has recently unveiled an eerily realistic robot named Jia Jia. While she looks more human-like than that creepy ScarJo robot, you'll probably still find yourself plunging head first into the uncanny valley while looking at her. Jia Jia can talk and interact with real humans, as well as make some facial expressions -- she can even tell you off if she senses you're taking an unflattering picture of her. "Don't come too close to me when you are taking a picture. It will make my face look fat," she told someone trying to capture her photo during the presscon.

The team spent three years designing her, making sure her mouth moves when she speaks and that her eyes glance around the room naturally. But they've yet to figure out how she can laugh or cry... and how to make her hands look less like a department store mannequin's. Those might come with version 2, since the researchers intend to continue working on Jia Jia despite having no plans of mass producing her. Team leader Chen Xiaoping said they hope to give her deep learning and facial recognition capabilities in the future.