UK-based robot design company Engineered Arts recently unveiled what they’re calling “the future face of robotics” — a full-size humanoid robot named Ameca.
While they plan to fully show off Ameca at 2022’s Consumer Electronics Show in January, this week they shared a brief 40-second clip of the robot waking up, checking out its hands, and motioning toward the camera. “This is not CGI!” Engineered Arts write, as the human-like bot is capable of some pretty impressive, not to mention uncannily realistic, facial expressions and movement.
Overall, Ameca looks a bit like the robotic version of Greendale Community College’s Human Being mascot. Its design is intended to be completely neutral, containing “basic human characteristics” without focusing on any one quality over another. Their main goal is to capture human expression and gestures.
What’s it all about, though? “Designed specifically as a platform for development into future robotics technologies,” their website states, “Ameca is the perfect humanoid robot platform for human-robot interaction.” Paired with their Tritium robot operating system, Ameca works as a humanoid testing platform for AI and machine learning systems.
Or, perhaps for the rest of us, Engineered Arts say the robot would be a great fit as a greeter “at an event or visitor attraction.” In fact, you can already rent their robots, including Ameca, for events like “live TV appearances” and “intimate theatre performances.”
In the video, you might even notice Ameca gently roll its shoulder right before waking up. It’s the small touches that make the impending robot apocalypse that much more exciting.
