Mark Megahan
An “eerily realistic” robot just leaped off the pages of “dystopian” science fiction. Apparently, Clone Robotics still has a few bugs to work out of the design. The “world’s first bipedal, musculoskeletal android” is supposed to be a whiz in the kitchen. It has all the human muscles, tendons and joints but no face.
Polish Protoclone robot
Polish startup Clone Robotics just introduced a lifelike robot with synthetic muscles for natural movements. It’s skin looks like silicone but feels like a fuzzy plush toy. The video they recently released shows their Protoclone “suspended in the air.”
That tends to suggest it hasn’t mastered standing or walking yet. What it can do is kick, spasm and twitch. “We can manufacture this at a cost of a relatively affordable car.”
Marketed as a robot replacement for domestic help that can slice, dice, cook and run the vacuum, “the company celebrated its technological fete.” Meanwhile, “users weren’t impressed.”
That didn’t stop the video from getting 32 million views and counting. The “Protoclone is suspended in the air as its limbs jerk and spasm, its arms moving at the elbows and legs bending at the knees.” It appears to be having a convulsion.
“While every normal person looks at dystopian sci-fi films as cautionary tales, nerds see them as instruction manuals,” one viewer commented. “Creepy. As. F-k,” agreed another. “Why is the human race hellbent on self-destruction?”
If this robot doesn’t get us, another one will. “We had a good run, fellow humans,” one “defeated” person observed. Another exclaimed “I actually feel sick after watching this.”
It has potential
Not all science fiction is dystopian, there’s a lot of lighter hearted stuff out there. Protoclone may be off to a rough start but he’ll improve. In no time, he’ll be the plastic pal who’s fun to be with the designers envisioned.
Even though they didn’t show it on the video, the company claims their robot “can walk, talk, complete chores and more — just like any human could.”
“Do it yourself once. Clone will do it forever,” the sales brochure promises. You can preorder one as soon as later this year.
Allegedly, the robot “memorizes the layout of your home and kitchen inventory, washes dishes and clothes, makes sandwiches and pours drinks, sets the table, holds and retrieves items, vacuums and cleans, shakes hands and even talks.”
They claim Protoclone can walk “naturally.” They also designed in a “Telekinesis training platform,” meaning “it can learn new skills.” Like mowing the lawn or changing your oil. They call the robot “lifelike” despite the “creepy” synthetic muscles under translucent skin.
It boasts “muscular, skeletal, nervous and vascular systems.” While not necessary, “the durable robot has the same number of bones as humans” — 206 — which are made from “cheap and durable polymers.“
