He is the “most advanced humanoid in the world”

Ameca is described by its manufacturer as the most advanced robot in the world. With its artificial intelligence, its gray skin and its cranial box, the robot would almost pass for one of our fellows. Developed by the company Engineered Arts, the robot does not currently have legs. A motricity that is a stain when you know how advanced the project is in other areas.

At the last edition of CES in January, Morgan Roe, the company’s chief operating officer, explained that the robot could not work for several years. But during a recent question-and-answer session, Ameca returned to the words of its designer.

A robot that looks like a human

The robot explains that engineers at Engineered Arts are currently working on a pair of legs that could allow it to move freely. Already equipped with arms, the robot could therefore “come to life” with this last centerpiece.

According to press reports, work on these legs is progressing well and they could be operational within the next year. An ultra-rapid advance which is in fact explained by the reuse of technology. Engineered Arts has already worked on functional legs for another robot, Byrun, the engineers are therefore working to adapt this system to Ameca.

A stable and confident gait

These legs should be made of aluminum and plastic to keep the weight down as much as possible. The idea for the engineers behind this project is to offer equipment that allows a stable and confident gait. The idea is to get rid of the image of the robot walking jerkily. To achieve this objective, the engineers will present several pneumatic solutions in the coming months as well as force sensors to keep the robot balanced on its two legs.

For the moment, with the legs designed for Byrun, the human side dear to the company no longer really exists and it is rather a block of technology at the end of the robot which allows it to move . Today the Ameca robot is able to hold a conversation thanks to its artificial intelligence GPT-3.

An intelligent robot: utopia or dystopia?

During the interview, several unanticipated questions were asked of the humanoid in order to test the limits of artificial intelligence. For example, he was asked if he preferred ketchup or mayonnaise. The answer was not long in coming and Ameca assured to have a preference for ketchup. The robot even justified its choice by explaining that it appreciated its spiciness.

The development of this robot is in any case monitored very closely. Many people fear that the development of artificial intelligence like this will fall into the wrong hands. Several ethics control committees have already alerted to the actions of Engineered Arts. For them, the company is “playing with fire” and it could “endanger” many people if it were to “lose control” of its robots.

Nevertheless, if this disaster scenario is still much talked about, the reality is very different and if the Ameca robot can be scary, the development to be done before having a robot capable of turning against its creator is still far away. The greatest threat to humanity remains the man behind the robot, not the automaton itself.