Sophia, a lifelike robot and the first one to be granted citizenship of a country, made its first appearance in India at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay during its cultural extravaganza, Tech Fest. This is not the first time a humanoid was displayed in the country. Lenders like City Union and HDFC Bank had showcased such robots capable of undertaking limited banking transactions in branches in the last two years.

Sophia is a social humanoid robot developed by Hong Kong-based Company Hanson Robotics. In October 2017, the robot became a Saudi Arabian citizen, the first robot to receive citizenship of any country. While interviewers around the world have been impressed by the sophistication of many of Sophia's responses to their questions, the bulk of Sophia's meaningful statements are believed by experts to be somewhat scripted. With a new set of legs, this humanoid robot now has enough mobility to take a few steps and even bust out some dance moves. Currently the legs are capable of moving at up to 0.6 miles per hour. She is able to simulate more 60 different facial expressions, track and recognise faces, look people in the eye, and hold natural conversations. And she appears even more humanlike thanks to a material that mimics real human musculature and skin that allows her to seem more expressive. Sophia was created by David Hanson of Hanson Robotics, who quoted: 'I quest to realise Genius Machines - machines with greater than human intelligence, creativity, wisdom, and compassion.