British robot developer Engineered Arts has unveiled the humanoid "Ameca", which has a surprisingly realistic look. Humanoids (or androids) that look like humans can't escape the uncanny valley spell, but Ameca looks like a real human (albeit an uncolored white face). You can show a rich expression.
Humanoid robots are called "humanoids" that resemble humans in shape, and "androids" that look like humans. Boston Dynamics' Atlas, for example, is called a humanoid because it looks a lot like a human and has a certain level of athletic performance that surpasses that of a human, but its appearance is perfect. On the other hand, androids are made to resemble humans themselves, like a series of robots made by Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro of Osaka University.
However, people have a tendency to feel uncomfortable and fearful about something that is psychologically similar to them but something different. This is a psychological phenomenon called "uncanny valley".
In the video that introduces Ameca, you can see Ameca as if you were confused by recognizing the outside world at first when you started it, and when you move your arm yourself, you will be surprised at it. However, after a while, he seems to have calmed down, showing a soft smile and a service spirit like reaching out to the camera.
Since it is a robot, Ameca does not actually have any emotions that surprise or show the spirit of service, but as you can see, it reproduces a realistic expression that makes you think so.
Especially real is the movement of the eyes. The human eyeball does not move smoothly and slowly, but moves instantly from viewpoint to viewpoint and then stands still. Ameca reproduces it with very human-like movements, including blinking. On the other hand, the smooth transition of facial expressions and the lack of awkwardness can be said to be an element that enhances reality.
However, it seems that this series of operations is not performed by Ameca in real time, but is pre-programmed or given by motion capture. In addition, Ameca's facial expression and the upper body such as the head, neck, shoulders, and arms seem to move in uncomfortable manner, but there is no motor function in the lower body, and this is a future development target.
Engineered Arts positions Ameca as a "platform for AI development," and states that it will open up the development of necessary machine learning algorithms to outside developers.
By the way, Engineered Arts has released a robot called Mesmer that shows very realistic movements while only the head, in addition to Ameca. This is a detailed reproduction of the human skeleton, how muscles are attached, the texture of the skin, etc., and it reproduces a series of facial expressions that are more convincing than Ameca, although it is a little sleepy. Mesmer can control its operation with software similar to those used for VFX and 3D animation production of games, and has various inputs and outputs such as cameras, depth sensors, LiDAR, and microphones. In addition, the facial expression is driven by a motor with "high torque and high quietness", and it is said that each part is linked without discomfort.
These androids will be on display at CES 2022 in Las Vegas at the beginning of the year.
Source: Engineerd Arts
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