Two newest humanoid robots developed by the Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences made first appearance at the foundation laying ceremony of the new China Science and Technology Museum at Beijing's Olympic Park on Tuesday.

The two robots, one is called Tong Tong, which can mimic human expressions and another called Bei Qi, which can draw like humans. The former can show expressions through its eyes, using winks and blinks and the latter can draw on the spot. Both represent the highest level of achievement of current China's robotic research aiming to mimic humans.

Research analysts said that these two types of robots were both first of its kind to be created in China and exhibit some unique characteristics in certain critical technological areas. They can be used extensively in arenas such as science exhibition halls, malls and toyland and have a very broad market prospect.

(Chinanews May 10, 2006)