The video, shot at a factory in China, shows rows of partially skin-covered humanoids with frighteningly realistic facial features. While this may seem like a glimpse into the future of robotics, the reality is much less sensational.
The company behind these creations is ExRobots, which specializes in “efficient and user-friendly smart guide services.” Their main mission is to create hyper-realistic animatronics for museums, exhibitions and corporate events. Think of it like a robotic Madame Tussauds museum, complete with 3D scanning technology to create custom mascots and presenters.
The effectiveness of the viral video lies in its ability to reveal our discomfort with the “uncanny valley,” that is, the uneasy feeling caused by artificial entities that are close to human but not quite human.
The video therefore serves as a reminder of the broader progress occurring in the field of robotics. While ExRobots focuses on entertainment, several Chinese companies such as Unitree and UBTech are making significant strides in developing artificially intelligent robotic workers that can perform real-world tasks.
The global race to create functional humanoids is heating up, with both China and North American companies such as Tesla and Boston Dynamics “pushing” the technology to its limits.
Source: Ferra
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
