Amid Beijing's push to turn the country into an artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse and embed the technology in all facets of life, some Chinese entrepreneurs are taking the expertise to a new frontier: sex dolls.

WMDOLL, one of China's biggest sex doll makers, which is based in the southeastern province of Guangdong, launched what it calls AI-powered dolls at end of 2016 that offer features ranging from simple conversation to moving eyes, arms and torsos. Customers can personalise their dolls by choosing various appearance options including height, hairstyle and eye colour.

AI features on the dolls are still very basic: they can answer questions but cannot hold longer conversations. The doll uses vocabulary by connecting to a database supported by Chinese tech giant Baidu.

Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Show all 20 1 /20 Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Workers assemble sex dolls at the WMDOLL factory in China Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Various doll heads covered with dust bags on shelves at the WMDOLL factory Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker stands in an elevator with sex dolls Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Sex dolls hang from racks in the warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Parts of sex dolls on operating platforms waiting to be checked Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker holds a doll's head to cool it down in front of a fan Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Employees work at the WMDOLL factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, China Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Workers check the circuits of a sex doll called Lucy Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker attaches a nail to a sex doll's finger Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Workers hang a sex doll in the warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker assembles a sex doll Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Different moulds for making dolls in a workshop Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker takes a photo of a sex doll Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A male sex doll hangs in the warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Three sex dolls, all called Lucy, have their moving parts controlled by remote control Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker prepares a sex doll for a photo shoot Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Metal skeletons for sex dolls Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Sex doll heads Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory Sex dolls with different shapes and skin colours hang in a warehouse Reuters Inside a Chinese AI sex doll factory A worker assembles a sex doll Reuters

The firm admits improving the features has been difficult partly because experts aren't interested in putting much effort into developing AI technology for adult products.

“Of course we're not expecting to make our AI dolls that human-like, after all we're just making adult products,” said Liu Ding, WMDOLL product manager. “But we will surely add more advanced technologies... for example making the limbs move more naturally.”

WMDOLL says it has sold more than 20 of the AI dolls, which are priced between 10,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan ($1,470 to $7,350), compared with their annual sales of 20,000 dolls.

The company hopes the AI dolls will eventually take off with overseas customers, including those in the United States - exports account for 80 percent of their sales, and half of their overseas shipments go to the United States.