Meet the 'father of humanoids,' the Japanese engineer who has created six robot versions of himself

In 2006, Japanese engineer Hiroshi Ishiguro shocked the world by creating an android copy of himself called Geminoid HI-1.

Nearly twenty years later, the so-called "father of humanoids" has built six robot replicas of himself, with each version becoming more advanced. 

His latest version, the Geminoid HI-6, was on display at the Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories at Osaka University during a visit from CNBC Tech: The Edge. 

"The main feature of this version is it's conversational. We have integrated it with a large language model, and then we have input ten of my books and almost all media interviews," Ishiguro said in his interview with CNBC.

"Originally, I was using this robot for giving lectures when I was busy. But now, after the lectures, this Geminoid HI-6 can answer the questions given by an audience," he added.

The robot's resemblance to Ishiguro is undeniable. It mimics his facial features and expressions and has real human hair and silicone skin to achieve a human feel.

However, Ishiguro does not exclusively create robot replicas of himself. He has also developed toy robots and robot installations. In fact, his first ever humanoid robot was a replica of his daughter.

For decades, Japan has been a leader in robotics. Earlier this year, researchers at Tokyo University unveiled a new way of binding living skin tissue to a robot's body, whereas the West Japan Railway introduced a humanoid robot to carry out maintenance work on the country's rails.

Take a look at the many creations inside Hiroshi Ishiguro's laboratories by watching the video above.