3rd-generation Iranian android to be unveiled

Speaking on Wednesday, Aghil Yousefi-Koma, the director of the national android project, said, “The Surena 3 project or the third generation of the Iranian android started roughly two years ago.”

“Surena 3 is roughly 10 times faster than its second generation [version] and enjoys various capabilities like moving over obstacles, online control, climbing stairs and moving on inclined surfaces, rotating on spot, reverse movement, and interaction with humans,” said Yousefi-Koma, who is a professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in the University of Tehran.

He noted that Surena’s original developing team has been joined by new cooperators from the University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology, Tarbiat Modares University, and Shiraz University.

Yousefi-Koma said, “The field of androids is one of robotics’ most intriguing and challenging areas, wherein researchers try to imitate aspects of humans’ appearance and attitude.”

Surena is named after the Parthian Iranian warrior Surena (84 BCE-54 BCE), who defeated the Roman General Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae.