Surena is an Iranian

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 humanoid robot

Robot

A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...

, named after the Parthian

Parthian Empire

The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...

 General Surena.

According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...

 (IEEE), Iran's manufacture of Surena makes it one of five countries in the world with the technology to make humanoid robots.

Surena I

This robot was introduced in December 2008. It had a height of 165 centimetres and weight of 60 kilograms, and is able to speak according to predefined text. It also has remote control and tracking ability.

Surena II

On July 3, 2010, Surena II was introduced. Developed by robotics experts in Tehran University, it has a height of 145 centrimetres and weight of 45 kilograms. Surena II is able to walk, but slowly with a combination movements of hands, head and legs. It is also able to stand on one leg and keep its balance, and to dance. Surena II has 22 degrees of freedom, including 12 at its legs, 8 at its hands and 2 at its head. It is a product of 10,000 hours of work by a team of 20 robotics experts and engineers. Surena II is similar to the Japanese robot, ASIMO

ASIMO

is a humanoid robot created by Honda. Introduced in 2000, ASIMO, which is an acronym for "Advanced Step in Innovative MObility", was created to be a helper to people. With aspirations of helping people who lack full mobility, ASIMO is used to encourage young people to study science and mathematics...

.

Surena III

The third generation of the Surena robot is currently under development as a joint project between the R&D Society of Iranian Industries and Mines and the University of Tehran

University of Tehran

The University of Tehran , also known as Tehran University and UT, is Iran's oldest university. Located in Tehran, the university is among the most prestigious in the country, and is consistently selected as the first choice of many applicants in the annual nationwide entrance exam for top Iranian...

. It will be able to walk faster and also recognize faces, objects, words and sentences with appropriate reactions.