The adoption of robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa received a major boost after Uniccon Group, an Abuja-based tech startup, unveiled the continent's first humanoid robot. Omeife, the 1.8m female human-like robot, is African by design and has Igbo-like physical attributes. The battery-powered robot can speak Igbo, Yoruba, English, French, Swahili, Wazobia, Pidgin, Afrikaans and Arabic with native accents. Uniccon Group chief executive Chuks Ekwueme said: "Omeife also identifies objects and calculates positions and distances of objects." The launch of Omeife comes a few months after Abdul Malik Tejan-Sie, a South African-based Sierra Leonean innovator, presented a prototype of South Africa's first humanoid robot.

While all "metallic miniature humans" are termed as robots, there are distinctions and humanoids are one variation of a robot. Humanoids are generally termed non-living creatures with human features. The term was used to address indigenous people in European colonies. Globally, the first Al-humanoid was named Sophia. Sophia was first actuated on February 14, 2016.

Over the years, Human-like robots have grown in popularity worldwide; we have had humanoids from Asia, North America, and finally, Africa. Equipped to meet the world, Omeife is a 6-foot-tall female "Igbo" humanoid robot designed to provide assistance, indulge in intellectual-social engagement, and serve numerous functions. She was created by STEMFocus, a subsidiary of Uniccon Group of Companies. Uniccon Group is one of Nigeria's fastest-growing Technology startups located In Mabushi Abuja. They offer eclectic, innovative Tech solutions to government agencies and businesses across the continent.

Somewhere in Mabushi, a crossroad area between the inner and outer districts of Abuja, Nigeria, Uniccon Group, a two-year-old Nigerian technology firm, has built a humanoid: a 6-foot-tall multilingual human-like robot called Omeife. From an idea that was conceptualised in 2020 to a back-and-forth construction--slow wins and quick-succession learning--that stretched across two years, Omeife, built as a female Igbo character that understands and speaks eight different languages, is now a product ready to meet the world. Powered by sophisticated artificial intelligence algorithms developed in-house by the company's team of scientists, Omeife has a deep understanding of African culture and behavioural patterns. Speaking to TechCabal about the project over a call, Chuks Ekwueme, who founded the company in 2020 and serves as its CEO, revealed that the humanoid also has a real time understanding of its environment including active listening and the ability to focus on a specific conversation thread as it's happening. "It's not just multilingual, it has the ability to switch languages and interact with specific gestures--hand illustrations, smile and other bodily gestures--that match the tone of the conversation," said Ekwueme.