Mindar

Mindar (Japanese: マインダー), also known as Android Kannon Mindar, is an android preacher at the Kōdai-ji temple in Kyoto, Japan. The humanoid robot regularly gives sermons on the Heart Sutra at the 400-year-old Zen Buddhist temple. It was created to represent and embody Kannon, a bodhisattva associated with compassion.

Mindar was designed through a collaboration between staff of Kōdai-ji and roboticists from Osaka University, including Hiroshi Ishiguro. Construction of the 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) tall android began in 2017 at Osaka University's robotics laboratory. Development of the android cost ¥25 million (US$227,250), while the total cost of the project was ¥100 million (US$909,090). Mindar was unveiled to the public at a ceremony in March 2019. Its 25-minute pre-programmed sermon was written by monks and addresses the Buddhist concepts of emptiness and compassion.