Behind 'world's most advanced' humanoid robot in UK - multilingual, facial expressions and 'threat'

The ‘world’s most advanced’ robot is now ready to meet humans.

A humanoid robot, that has been designed to look and act in a similar way to us, will be showcased at the National Robotarium in Edinburgh, Scotland, as part of a project to help humans and robots understand each other better. The bot, which goes by the name Ameca, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to communicate with people.

Ameca has cameras for eyes and microphones for ears, and is described as being able to “interact with people in a natural and engaging way”. Researchers say that Ameca can pull facial expressions to show its thinking and joking, using its advanced motorised components and smart facial recognition software.

Ameca

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The National Robotarium, the UK’s centre for robotics and AI, has purchased Ameca from Engineered Arts and plans to take it to public events, school visits and workshops around Scotland to get people familiar with human-shaped robots. Researchers hope that Ameca will help people of all ages learn about the latest robotic advancements.

Ameca can understand and speak multiple languages, including English, German, French, Chinese and more. She can differentiate between American and British dialects and pull off intricate Japanese tongue twisters fluently.

While Ameca is only now ready to meet humans, humanoid robots in general have long been talked about. Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk both previously described AI technology as “our biggest existential threat” and a professor warned back in 2016 that bots would “take over the world” within a few decades.

Robotics expert Noel Sharkey previously said: “The robotics community has certainly been considering the idea that robots will be walking among us, and it’s just a matter of when really.” The University of Sheffield academic said these human-shaped robots will slowly creep into our lives during the next few decades.

“We are likely to see robots integrated into society in the near future as shop assistants, receptionists, doctors, bar tenders and also as carers for our elderly and children,” he explained. “It’ll all happen very gradually over the next 20 to 30 years until we don’t even notice they’re among us. I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about but if they come to look too human-like, they could be used to deceive us in many ways.”

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Ameca has been described as a “really special and advanced robot” that can do “lots of different things”. Speaking on Radio 4 on Wednesday, Lisa Farrow, from the National Robotarium, said Ameca has “full mobility of its top half” and has cameras, microphones and actuators in its face to help it pull facial expressions, making it “really good to engage with”.

Lisa said the modern phenomenon of ‘uncanny valley’ is the biggest barrier between people and humanoid robots. Uncanny valley describes the feeling of being unsettled by lifelike features that aren’t quite convincingly realistic.

“That’s part of the reason we want to have Ameca at the National Robotarium,” Lisa explained. “It’s to allow people to engage with humanoid robots, to get that personal touch and understand what the robots are capable of and what the benefits of them are.”

Lisa said the purpose of the Scottish tour is to “enable more people to use robots, more of the time” and make it more natural for humans to “adopt and deploy robots in their homes and jobs”. She added: “That’s what we’re going to use it for, to really engage [with people], especially with the next generation of roboticists”.

Giving an insight into the reaction of people meeting Ameca, Lisa said: “My seven-year-old daughter met with Ameca last week… she was delighted. There was a raised eyebrow from her at first, but she actually took it in her stride and I think that’s probably typical of her generation. I think they’ve grown up with some of this technology. She was really pleased and engaged with it.”

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Steve Maclaren, chief operating officer at the centre, said: “The arrival of Ameca at the National Robotarium marks a significant step forward in our mission to make robotics more accessible and relatable to the people of Scotland, the UK and beyond. Since opening our doors in September 2022, we’ve successfully hosted more than 100 in-person and virtual events and engaged thousands of school-aged children.

“Ameca represents an exciting opportunity to build on that success and take public engagement to the next level. By giving people the chance to interact with this state-of-the-art humanoid robot firsthand, we aim to demystify robotics, foster trust in human-robot interaction, and showcase the remarkable potential of these technologies to improve our daily lives and benefit society as a whole.”

What do you think about human-esque robots? Let us know in the comments.