This "toddler" robot was developed by the Japanese Science and Technology Agency and is an example of a subculture of Japanese scientists trying to create robots that could pass as humans.

London-based photographer Luisa Whitton has captured their stories in a series called What About the Heart?

A scholarship provided Whitton with the opportunity to travel to Japan to meet with robotics pioneer Ishiguro, who became famous in tech circles for having built an eerily creepy robotic copy of himself.

Ishiguro's Geminoid series of robots are some of the most lifelike synthetics ever assembled.

Ishiguro also introduced Whitton to roboticists who were pursuing less realistic humanoid robots.

Ishiguro's research also led to the development of the "Geminoid F" based on a female subject.

Unlike staged press events, Whitton's photos capture the robotic creations in process.

Ishiguro's robotic double is apparently enduring the existential pain that comes with facing one's own mortality.

Robotics is an exploding field, but most research is being directed to industrial applications, not prototype Terminators.

Ishiguro is known for using human hair to complete the charade.

Whitton was captivated by a term their creators used, Sonzai-Kan, which is essentially the notion that an object can contain the presence or spirit of its creator.

Hiroshi Ishiguro's robot acts serves a self portrait in addition to science project.

Despite the interest in lifelike bots, Japanese researchers haven't abandoned the kawaii either.

In the west, companies compete to make the best robotic arms. In Japan they're attempting to create the perfect foot.

Ishiguro's synthetic self-portrait made him question what it means to be human and how life-like machines can alter that definition and Whitton hopes to spread these questions by "using portraiture to illustrate the relationships between technology and identity."