Developed by the Hong Kong based Hanson Robotics, Sophia happens to be the first robot to be entitled with a passport and a citizenship.Ever since her unveiling in 2016, Sophia has rocketed to stardom. The robot has sat for TV interviews, appeared on the cover of ELLE magazine, been parodied on HBO, and was appointed the UN’s first non-human “innovation champion.” In a ceremony promoting a tech conference, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia even conferred citizenship on Sophia.
Techno India University took the initiative to bring Sophia for the first time in Eastern Region. The programme comprised of two slots for the interactive session with Sophia. More than 6500 students, faculties and individual guests, medical and technological professionals were present at the event in two slots. The speech that Sophia delivered created an everlasting impression on the audience that comprised legendary persons from fields of Medicine and Technology. This event was graced by the presence of revered medical personalities, like Dr(Prof.) Sukumar Mukherjee(Ex-Professor and Head, Department of Medicine, Calcutta Medical College), Dr. Kunal Sarkar(Senior Vice Chairman, Director and Head of Cardiac Surgery), Dr. A.R. Dutta (Director, Nephrology and Transplant Unit, Fortis Hospital and Kidney Institute, Kolkata) who interacted with Sophia and engaged in rich conversation on various aspects of medical science. Esteemed academicians from the field of science and technology namely Dr Sanghamitra Bandyopadhyay (Director, ISI, Kolkata), Dr. Anupam Basu (Director, NIT Durgapur), Dr. Saikat Maitra (Vice Chancellor, Makaut), Prof B.B. Chaudhuri (Ex-Prof ISI, Kolkata, IEEE member and Pro Vice Chancellor Techno India University) . Prof. Ajay Chakrabarty (Ex-Prof IIT Kharagpur, Dean of Research, Techno India University), Prof Bhargab B. Bhattacharya (Ex-Professor ISI Kolkata, Prof IIT Kharagpur) and Prof. Partha Pratim Chakraborty (Ex Director, IIT Kharagpur) were amongst the distinguished guests who immensely inspired the students and inculcated in them a fervor for higher studies in the field of engineering and technology and engaged in conversation with Sophia on several academic attributes. Sophia said
” India is colourful, diverse and beautiful. Talking further about herself, she said: “I live in Hong Kong and travel the world to meet people from different cultures.”
