Anne’s royal encounter with humanoid robot on trip to South Korea

The Princess Royal experienced a royal meet and greet with a difference in South Korea when she shook hands with a humanoid robot.

Anne, who is on a three-day official visit to the republic, watched as the state of the art machine ran speedily back and forth in a demonstration at a smart mobility laboratory at Korea University in Seoul.

The robot also gave the princess a wave, prompting a smile from the King’s sister.

Anne was said to be extremely interested to talk about AI, and heard how the robot learns movement from trial and error, as well as simulation.

Wearing navy blue day gloves, the princess leaned forward to greet the robot with a handshake.

Anne, who was accompanied by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, also saw demonstrations of a dual-arm robot and a motion capture system.

She was visiting the university to see examples of British-Korean academic, industrial and research collaboration in science and technology.