Get ready for Will Smith to say, “I told you so.”
A scarily realistic robot with lifelike facial features and expressions that can “develop interaction” with people has just been unveiled by Britain-based tech company Engineered Arts.
Now available for purchase or rent for an undisclosed sum, the relatable android — named Ameca — has a pretty face and movable arms and is billed as “the perfect humanoid robot platform for human-robot interaction.”
It can smile, routinely blink its eyes, gasp in shock, scratch its nose — or even have a staring contest with an owner, just for the heck of it — along with plenty more high-tech features.
Let the sci-fi nightmares begin: According to the company, it can “strike an instant rapport with anybody” due to its personlike nature.
“Human-like artificial intelligence needs a human-like artificial body,” Engineered Arts wrote of Ameca.
Ameca is intended as a cloud-connected platform to test artificial intelligence and machine learning systems. The robot’s congeniality makes it “the perfect platform to develop interaction between us humans and any metaverse or digital realm,” the company stated.
Owners can “gain access to all the robots [sic] data, control it as [their] personal avatar, animate and simulate, all available from anywhere in the world.”
Ameca’s parts are also modular and can work independently from one another, so there is “no need for a full robot” in certain cases.
“You can have just a head, or even only an arm,” according to Engineered Arts.
One downside to the high-tech robot is that programmers haven’t conquered the “difficult task” of getting Ameca to walk yet.
However, Engineered Arts is planning to have the bot become more mobile in the future through updates because of its inherent interchangeability.
“The modular architecture allows for future upgrades, both physically and software, to enhance Ameca’s abilities, all without having to fork out for an entire new robot.”
While some labeled Ameca “scary” and expressed that they were “worried” it could lead to, say, a cyber revolt and robot uprising like in Will Smith’s film “I, Robot,” its creators apparently have another purpose in mind for the technological breakthrough.
“Wow your customers or visitors at an event or visitor attraction,” the company wrote, indicating that “the future face of robotics” simply could be used as a glorified mannequin.
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