A Chinese robotics company has unveiled a disturbing robotic head, with incredibly human-like movements and facial expressions.
In a short video, the robot's face appears separated from its body and stands on a workbench, moving its eyes, clicking and opening its mouth.
The company AheadForm, the creator of this highly lifelike animatronic, says the disembodied robot is designed for "study and interaction."
On social media, tech fans have been amazed by the robot's remarkably accurate expressions, with one commenter describing it as "a video game character come to life."
According to AheadForm's website, the company's goal is to create sophisticated humanoid robotic heads that can express emotions, perceive the environment, and interact naturally with humans.
The robot, called the AheadForm Origin M1, uses 25 tiny motors hidden under the skin to reproduce the subtle movements and pulsations that make the face look so real.
He also has small cameras in his eyes, hidden microphones and a speaker to communicate with people nearby.
Although this model is just a face on a base, the video has caught the attention of many fans.
One commenter wrote: "I didn't believe skin could be made so realistic. This is crazy."
Another: "The most realistic robot face yet. If I were Musk, I would have bought the company right away."
Some have called it "crossing the Uncanny Valley," where robots become so similar to humans that the human brain feels a decrease in comfort.
However, there has been no shortage of skeptical and worrying comments:
One commenter: "Making a robot more human doesn't make it more relatable. It just makes it more disturbing."
Another humorous one: "Terrible human creations beyond my comprehension."
The robot is not yet for commercial sale, and AheadForm has not provided additional information about the product.
The company says its goal is to create “head for AI,” so that artificial language models like ChatGPT can speak directly to people in a more natural way. This could be used in customer service, education, or healthcare, where people might spend more time communicating with robotic assistants.
The robots use AI algorithms to power tiny motors that create human expressions in real time.
Last year, founder Yuhang Hu and his colleagues published an article in the journal Science Robotics, explaining how the robot studies, predicts, and imitates human facial expressions.
In addition to this strange "face only" model, the company also produces larger lifelike robots, such as the "Elf" line, with sharp ears and the ability to interact with the environment, as well as the simpler and more economical "Lan Series".
AheadForm also creates scary 1-1 replicas of real individuals, using the same techniques.
The company emphasizes:
"Our vision is to create humanoid robots that integrate seamlessly into everyday life, providing assistance, companionship, and support across industries. By developing realistic and expressive robotic heads, we can bridge the gap between man and machine." /GazetaExpress/
edition
t7 live
