David Hanson (robotics designer)

Hanson was born on December 20, 1969, in Dallas, Texas, United States. He studied at Highland Park High School for his senior year to focus on math and science. As a teenager, Hanson's hobbies included drawing and reading science fiction works by writers like Isaac Asimov and Philip K. Dick—the latter of whom he would later replicate in android form. In 1995 as part of an independent-study project on out-of-body experiences, he built a humanoid head in his own likeness, operated by a remote operator. == Career ==

Hanson’s career has focused on creating humanlike robots. After he graduated from university, Hanson worked as an artist, and went on to work for Disney where he was a sculptor and material researcher in the Disney Imagineering Lab. Hanson is the founder and CEO of Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics, which was founded in 2013. Hanson has been published in materials science, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and robotics journals. Many of Hanson's creations currently serve at research or non-profit institutions around the world, including at the University of Cambridge, University of Geneva, University of Pisa and in laboratories for cognitive science and AI research. Hanson's creation Zeno, a two-foot tall robot designed in the style of a cartoon boy, provides treatment sessions to children with autism in Texas as a result of a collaboration between the University of Texas at Arlington, Dallas Autism Treatment Center, Texas Instruments and National Instruments, and Hanson. Other robots include Albert Einstein HUBO, a robotic head designed to look like Albert Einstein's and put it on top of the "HUBO" bipedal robotic frame, and Professor Einstein, a 14.5 inch personal robot that engages in conversation and acts as a companion/tutor. Hanson collaborated with musician David Byrne on Song for Julio, which appeared at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid in 2008 as part of the Máquinas&Almas (Souls&Machines) exhibit, and his creations have appeared in other museums around the world. == Educational institutions ==

From 2011 to 2013 Hanson was an adjunct professor of Computer Science and Engineering Teaching at the University of Texas at Arlington. He also taught in 2010 at the University of North Texas as an adjunct professor in fine arts, kinetic/interactive sculpture, and at the University of Texas at Dallas as an instructor of independent study in interactive sculpture. == Public and media appearances ==

Hanson has keynote speeches at leading international technology conferences such as the Consumer Electronics Show and IBC. == Epstein files ==

After the release of the Epstein files, it was revealed that Hanson sought funding robots with "sexy android bodies". == Selected publications ==

Books • Papers • • • • • • • • • • • ==References==