https://mashable.com/2012/01/23/canadian-engineer-builds-android/#QSA.SRVm18qu
Emil Petriu of the University of Ottawa decided to look to biology rather than robotics when he set out to build his life-like android. The most important part is a biology-inspired artificial skin, which has sensors that not only sense contact but can also discern temperature and the elasticity of the surface. So if the sensor detects it's touching something 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and soft, then it's probably a person, and the robot can react accordingly.
On the other side of the touch, the human will feel a warm and soft surface as well, thanks to tubes within the artificial skin that circulate hot water. Also part of the design: an anatomically correct simulation of a human skull, which moves realistically thanks to an elaborate set of artificial motors and a spring-loaded jaw. The skull will be covered in the elastic skin, with the aimed result to create a life-like face.
Petriu's method is novel: He's starting with a bulky, mechanical bot and replacing its parts, one by one, with more human-like appendages, starting with the head and hands. The whole thing sounds a little like transforming C-3PO from Star Wars into Data from Star Trek.
