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Humanoid robots are waking up — and they look eerily real

August 01, 2023

Ameca is made to be the perfect platform for researching how people and robots interact.

A robotics company in the UK named Engineered Arts has published a video of a humanoid robot that is remarkably lifelike, and all of a sudden the science fiction film I, Robot is popular.

The business named its robot Ameca, although Ameca's incredibly lifelike facial expressions and movements remarkably resemble those of Sonny, the fictitious android who co-starred with Will Smith in the movie and was performed by actor Alan Tudyk. It might be a coincidence or another instance of how science fiction has influenced modern technology.

The grey-faced humanoid robot awakens in the Engineered Arts film, gives a confused expression, and then stares at its hands as though it can't believe how lifelike they seem. Despite being self-serving, the business describes Ameca as "the world's most advanced human-shaped robot" based on that video.

How intelligent is it compared to other humans, regardless of how human it appears to be, and what does it imply for our future with robots?

The actual avatar: Next-generation robots are already capable of remarkable feats. They can clean homes, provide immunizations, chisel marble, test drive vehicles, insert contact lenses, and more (yeah, we frequently write about amazing robots).

It's not the first time that robotics companies have tried to make humanoid robots available to the general people. Sophia the Robot, a social robot that Hanson Robotics started mass manufacturing earlier this year, is meant to assist people deal with loneliness.

But if the epidemic taught us anything, it's how closely tied our online and offline worlds are to one another. Engineered Arts wishes to advance that with Ameca.

The humanoid robot will act as a "platform for development into future robotics technologies," according to Engineered Arts' website. Tritium, a cloud-based program from Engineered Arts, may also be used to operate Ameca. Its goal is to aid in the study of human-robot interaction, which is made much easier by its shockingly real facial signals.

However, the robot's ultimate purpose is to serve as an avatar in the physical world.

Imagine a normal day spent working from home. You could really meet in person rather than talking to coworkers on the #water-cooler Slack channel or holding a Zoom meeting with a customer. using a robotic stand-in akin to the Ameca.


The components of Ameca are modular and operate separately from one another. As a result, the humanoid robot, which is now offered for sale or rental, may be used in place of a head or arm, as needed, according to the New York Post.

According to Engineered Arts, "the modular construction enables for future updates, both physically and software, to expand Ameca's capabilities, all without having to pay for a whole new robot."

Robotics in the real world: When people saw a robot with a human-like face, their minds immediately went to science fiction films (the androids in the film I, Robot weren't exactly kind).

However, robots aren't made to rule the planet. The majority of robots replace dangerous activities like battling fires and boring, repetitive jobs demanding extreme accuracy like sorting rubbish. Robots are a more trustworthy alternative in situations when accuracy may make the difference between life and death, such as during surgery.

The robot workforce is expanding as a result of the existing labor shortage in several industries. The rise of automation is being influenced by a labor shortage. A drive-through attendant AI is being tested at McDonald's. Additionally, the robot chef Flippy ROAR is flipping burgers and preparing fries.

Robots won't just take the place of people, though; research with Ameca may enhance the interaction between humans and machines, which can increase corporate productivity.

BMW's usage of collaborative robots, according to H. James Wilson, managing director of information technology and business research at Accenture, is assisting the corporation in meeting the growing demand for customized automobiles.

According to Fortune, he said that "these human and machine teams, these robot and assembly worker teams, are around 85% more productive."