Engineered Arts, Cornwall has unveiled an android that looks remarkably like a human named Ameca.
The company released a short promo video showing Ameca “waking up”, looking at its hands, and then moving towards the camera. Since Engineered Arts uploaded the 40-second clip earlier this week, it has been viewed well over 10,000,000 times online.
Ameca is a grey-coloured robot with gender- and race-neutral features. It is described by the company as “the world’s most advanced human-shaped robot” and the “avantgarde of human-robotics technology.”
To interact with people, a robot should look like a human. Engineered Arts founder Will Jackson explained to Reuters that the human face is a high-speed communication tool.
He said, “We’ve tried gender-neutrality, race neutral. We are just trying to create something that has basic human characteristics, expression — and without adding anything. The grey faces are a result. It has been 15 years since conception.
Engineered Arts creates and produces humanoid entertainment robotics for science centers, theme parks, and businesses. Ameca can be rented or purchased, but Jackson believes that it is the ideal test-platform to develop artificial intelligence (AI).
“There are many people who work on AI interaction. There are all sorts of new apps that use vision systems, segmentation and face recognition. Voice synthesis is also used. What you don’t see, however, is the hardware that will run all of this software. Jackson stated that we are trying to offer a platform for AI.
He continued, “And a lot communication isn’t verbal.” It’s not just about speech. Expression is also important. A simple gesture like this can be worth a thousand words. Robots don’t need to say anything. We didn’t want to create a robot that said, “Please repeat the question.”
It’s all about natural human interaction. Imagine this: There has been a lot talk lately about metaverses: how can you take your metaverse character into the real world? For this, you will need an embodiment. You want to bring your virtual self to meetings in New York, Hawaii or Hong Kong. You can send a robot.
He also stated that Ameca, a robot similar to Ameca, costs more than US$133,000 per piece.