Engineered Arts Unveils Humanoid Robot Ameca With Human-Like Gestures and Facial Expressions

The population of humanlike robots on Earth continues to grow steadily. For example, everyone has already seen Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot. And let's not forget the bipedal bots from the California Institute of Technology. Yet nothing is more realistic than the new robot from Engineered Arts, Ameca. 

Leading British developer and manufacturer of humanoid entertainment robots Engineered Arts has unveiled Ameca, which has frightened many social media users. This humanoid robot, which has little artificial skin and musculature apart from its face and hands, is strikingly realistic. It not only moves exceptionally smoothly, but its face also looks completely natural.

As for the technology, the combination of mechanical limbs and linkages, actuators and sensor arrays in the robot appears to be cutting-edge. Engineered Arts has existed since 2005, which means it has had 16 years to refine its humanlike bots. By the way, the company's first robot was the mechanical robot "Thespian" for use on stage.

Engineered Arts makes it clear that Ameca does not use anything resembling "Pure AI" (also known as artificial general intelligence). As for conversations, Ameca is essentially a chatbot in a metal body. However, the company claims users can easily "talk through the robot" remotely.

The artificial intelligence platform of Engineered Arts' Ameca humanoid robot, which is due to debut at CES 2022 in January in Las Vegas, is considered the most advanced humanlike robot in the world, showcasing cutting-edge robotics technology. 

Remember David and Walter from the movie "Prometheus"? This robot has come as close to them as possible. Ameca is designed to become a platform for developing future robotics technologies and could pave the way for a similar robot if it gains the ability to learn on its own. 

The robot will allow researchers to test artificial intelligence and machine learning systems, as well as Tritium, a powerful operating system for robots. Its hardware and software are fully modular, which simplifies upgrades. These modules can operate independently, so if needed, you could have just a head or only an arm.

The company said: "Built from the ground up with a focus on cloud connectivity, all our robots can benefit from the latest and best offerings from the technology community. Get access to all robot data, control it as your personal avatar, animate and model, all accessible from anywhere in the world." 

Engineered Arts has developed a humanoid robot that can easily display human expressions. In a short video posted on YouTube, the company demonstrates Ameca, which is initially a platform for testing robotic technologies. 

With new developments in artificial intelligence, machines are learning not only to perform human tasks but also to go further. However, for people and machines to work together more smoothly, devices must share the same space, and humanoids are the best platforms for this. Researchers are working to make humanoids more interactive by teaching them nonverbal communication, and Ameca is an important milestone in this field.

As the video shows, the humanoid seems to have woken up in a robotics lab, while a real person works in the background. The robot moves its hands, displays several facial expressions within seconds, and even appears surprised by the smoothness of its hand and finger movements before looking into the camera with the same surprise. The clip is a sufficient demonstration of what the robot can do with its upper body.

Its lower half is currently almost non-functional. The Engineered Arts website says the humanoid robot still cannot walk. Although the company has conducted research on this, it has not yet transferred the acquired knowledge to the robot. However, walking, jumping or parkour is not what Ameca is aimed at. Its creators rightly call the humanoid the future face of robotics.

Ameca runs on Engineered Arts' Tritium operating system, which allows robotics companies to test their technologies. Whether it is artificial intelligence or machine learning technology being developed by companies or startups, they can test and even demonstrate their technologies in front of a live audience using Ameca. According to the website, Engineered Arts may even lease Ameca for exhibitions or live television discussions.

Returning to its inability to walk, Engineered Arts uses a modular architecture to build its robots. As a result, both software and hardware components can be upgraded without having to buy a new robot. So sooner or later, the robot will walk too.

Smooth, realistic movements and enhanced facial expression capabilities mean Ameca can instantly connect with anyone. The robot is an ideal platform for developing interaction between people and any metaverse or digital world. 

The company claims Ameca contains some software that can be described as "artificial intelligence," but it is much more complicated than that. Developers enjoy designing and building robots, but they also want to give others the opportunity to create AI and machine learning algorithms and see how far the technology can develop through collaboration.