Researchers are on the verge of developing robots which are practically indistinguishable from humans. Scientists at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University have taken another step in that direction by unveiling a creepy new humanoid robot named Nadine who has her own personality and is designed to play the role of social companion or personal assistant. Nadine, the world’s most human-like robot has begun work as a university receptionist ‘She’ not only meets and greet visitors, smile, make eye contact and shake hands, but she can even recognise past guests and spark up conversation based on previous chats. Prof Nadia Thalmann, the director of the Institute for Media Innovation who led the development, said robots such as Nadine are poised to become more visible in offices and homes in future. Prof Nadia Thalmann with Nadine, her robot doppelgänger. Gizmag reports: Some roboticists are treading cautiously in developing machines that approach human-like form. This is motivated by the idea that the more robots look and act as humans do, the more likely they are to creep us out. This sentiment is known as “uncanny valley,” and has moved some researchers in the field to reconsider how we’ll interact with robots in the future. [...]