Ameca: British Lab's Humanoid Robot with Bizarre, Human-Like Facial Expressions Unveiled in the U.K.

Billed as the world's most advanced humanoid robot, Ameca is able to express human-like facial expressions and has recently debuted in the UK.

Robot-Rush: North American Companies Rush to Fill Robot Demands

Reuters recently reported that North American companies had added a record-breaking number of robots during the first nine months of the year as they rushed to speed up assembly lines. Industrial users and factories have ordered a remarkable 29,000 robots, 37% more compared to the same period last year, valued at a whopping $1.48 billion.

The robot-rush is part of a large-scale upswing in investment as companies look for ways to keep up with the increasing demands, and in some cases, contribute to the shortages of basic goods.

It seems clear that the future, at least for factories and other industries, includes robot hands helping assembly lines at peak efficiency.

AMECA: Most Humanoid Robot in the World, Smiles, Blinks, and More

Cornwall-based robotics engineers have recently unveiled a human-like android robot named Ameca. In a short promotional video released by the company, Ameca can be seen seemingly waking up, looking at its hands and then starting at the camera. Since its release by the Engineered Arts, the 40-second clip has already racked up over 10 million views, reports GlobalNews.

America is designed with grey-colored skin and gender- and race-neutral characteristics. The company describes the humanoid robot as the "world's most advanced human-shaped robot".

Many viewers were amazed at how realistic and human-like Ameca is. Some are writing that although they are supposed to fear and be skeptical of AI, this is the first humanoid android that hasn't creeped them out. The short preview ends with the android reaching its hands out, admiring the combination of ligaments, mechanical limbs, actuators, and sensor arrays that make up its structure, reports DailyMail.

Will Jackson, founder of Engineered Arts, explains that the reason for creating a robot that looks human-like is to interact with people. Its human face is an incredibly high bandwidth communication tool, so the team developed the expressive robots. Jackson adds that the team tried to be gender- and race-neutral because they focused on creating something that has basic human characteristics and expressions without putting anything else over it, hence the grey face. Ameca has been in gestation for roughly 15 years.

Engineered Arts has been designing and manufacturing humanoid entertainment robots for theme parks, businesses, and science centers. Ameca is currently available for rental and purchase. However, Jackson believes that the humanoid is the perfect test platform for artificial intelligence (AI).

In 2016, Sophia, dubbed a super-intelligent human-like head with realistic facial expression emerged. She can blink, talk, and look from side to side. Sophia, the humanoid robot, was developed in Hong Kong by robotics firm Hanson Robotics. She can chat and tell jokes, too. It made history as the first robot citizen of Saudi Arabia in October 2017.

Engineered Arts hopes that the newly unveiled human-like android robot, Ameca, will offer people a glimpse of the future.

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