If you have ever wanted to be in two places at once, the answer may be sitting in a Japanese laboratory, muttering, flinching and scowling at passers-by.

Geminoid is a modern variant on an old idea, a humanoid robot designed in his creator's image, down to the tiniest of details. The skin tone, the spectacles, and even the lengthy hairs on its head are the same as Hiroshi Ishiguro's, a robotics expert at the Osaka University who built his doppelganger as a stand-in for when he is otherwise engaged.

Article continues Implanted beneath Geminoid's skin are 50 sensors and motors that can be controlled by simple movements Dr Ishiguro makes. He can see through its "eyes", talk through its internal speaker and shrug or scowl if prodded and poked. Compressed air forced through its body make Geminoid's chest rise and fall as if breathing.

"At first, you may feel strange about the android," Dr Ishiguro told Reuters. "However, once you are drawn into a conversation, you will forget every difference and feel totally comfortable to speak with it and look it in the eyes."

Dr Ishiguro believes robots like Geminoid will in future allow people to be where they cannot be. Speaking through Geminoid, he says, has become natural, an extension of himself.