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Deployment

Sophia at Cambridge, United Kingdom

Sophia is a female-presenting social humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics, activated 14 February 2016 and first shown publicly at SXSW in March 2016; known for realistic facial expressions and conversational AI, she was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship in October 2017, the first robot to receive legal personhood.

Sophia by Hanson Robotics · Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verified · Humanoids

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Hanson Robotics androids deployed at Cambridge University. Two decades of human-like robots serving at research institutions. Sophia is the most advanced model.

Safety record

No incidents on record for Sophia at Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 1 source · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-08-14
Model
Sophia
Status
operational
First seen
2018-01-01
ID
2d65547a-a78f-4c28-b152-3a7f1fe7dc4e

Timeline

  1. Jan 2018
    First recorded
    Sophia first documented operating at Cambridge, United Kingdom.
  2. Aug 2026
    Current status: operational, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

Operates worldwide

Sophia is deployed globally rather than at a single verified site, so there is no map pin.

Free to use on your site, with a link back to DEPLOY.

Sophia operates in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (1)

  1. https://www.hansonrobotics.com/sophia-utility
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-14

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-14

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: research

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: humanoid

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Sophia at Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Common questions

What is the Sophia deployment at Cambridge, United Kingdom?
Sophia, built by Hanson Robotics, is recorded as a deployment at Cambridge, United Kingdom on the DEPLOY registry. Hanson Robotics operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Sophia at Cambridge, United Kingdom?
Hanson Robotics, the manufacturer of Sophia, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the Sophia deployment at Cambridge, United Kingdom go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting January 1, 2018 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Have there been incidents at the Sophia deployment at Cambridge, United Kingdom?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

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