Cornwall-based Engineered Arts, which bills itself as "the UK's leading designer and manufacturer of humanoid entertainment robots", has unveiled its new creation, the frighteningly realistic Ameca robot.
Many onlookers expressed amazement and even consternation at how realistic and human-like the machine is.
Ameca can't move around on its own, but it can gesticulate and make complex movement sequences with the help of a neural network that controls the robot in Python.
The design of the robot is meant to entertain people at various events, so it smiles and makes weird faces.
In the video, you can see the robot warming up, then opening its eyes and looking rather surprised. It even blinks a few times and watches its owner with curiosity.
The robot's facial expressions look so believable that they even scared some viewers on the internet. Thus, users noted that in addition to the "stunning neural network", "cool movements" and "expressive eyes", the android frightens them with its realism.
Some compared Ameca to a character from the science fiction film I, Robot starring Will Smith, in which intelligent robots take up government positions in a dystopian world.
The robot's creators, however, have reassured the public that Ameca is tightly controlled and undergoing all necessary testing. The team has already set its sights on the next challenge: teaching its ward to move around and not to fall over.
Engineered Arts stressed that this is still a long way off, but added that the robot boasts a "powerful operating system".
It is not known how much the robot will eventually cost to produce, as it is still in development. However, Ameca is already available to rent for the party.
