日本影片用机器人作领衔女主演
Japanese film-makers have created a robot movie star - by casting an android 'actress' in a lead role.
日本电影制片商选用机器人作为领衔女主演，塑造了一位机器人电影明星。
The robot co-stars alongside a human in the film 'Sayonara' set in the aftermath of a deadly nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan.
The android, called Geminoid F, was designed to look and act like a human with rubber 'skin' and a woman's face - but it is unable to walk and is wheeled around in the film.
Geminoid F - or Leona in the film - is referred to by director Koji Fukada as an 'actress,' and the android is even listed as a member of the cast in the end credits.
While robots have featured prominently in many films, most are played by real actors or created using visual effects.
Geminoid F was produced by Hiroshi Ishiguro, a renowned robot designer at Osaka University in western Japan, whose androids come with a £776,000 price tag.
Geminoid F was cheaper - just £72,000, which Ishiguro hopes may take the technology closer to the mainstream.
She can smile, furrow her brows and move her mouth. It can also talk and sing - playing recordings, or 'mouthing' other people's voices.
The robot is equipped with motorised actuators, powered by air pressure, which allow her to 'copy' human facial expressions. In the film, it is controlled remotely from a laptop.