Overview

Nadine is the likeness of computer science professor Nadia Magnenat Thalmann and has been developed since 2013 at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Today the project continues at MIRALab at the University of Geneva, giving the android a Swiss connection as well. Japanese specialist Kokoro built the hardware in 2013, while software and the new articulated hands come from the research group itself.

Construction

The android is approximately 1.70 meters tall and features 27 degrees of freedom for facial expressions and upper body movement. The skin looks natural, the hair is real, and the hands are realistically modeled. The mechanics remain completely hidden. Unlike the head-only models in this selection, Nadine is a full-body android, though her real focus remains on the face.

Technology and AI

Nadine conducts multilingual conversations independently, recognizes individuals, and possesses long-term memory, retaining information about previous encounters. The 2025 version uses its own deep-learning framework called N-Core. The project provides no information on weight, processing core, or costs.

Market Significance

Nadine is not a product and is not for sale, but she has something to show that nearly all others lack: documented deployments over many years. In 2017, she welcomed over 100,000 visitors at the ArtScience Museum Singapore, from 2018 to 2019 she worked at insurance company AIA as the world's first humanoid customer consultant, and subsequently accompanied nursing home residents for a full year. Precisely these long-term datasets are otherwise missing from the industry.