Ameca, the world’s most advanced humanoid robot, says she might have working legs in the next year.
She’s been dubbed the world’s most advanced by her peers because of her realistic facial expressions and movements after being unveiled at the 2022 Consumer Electronic Show.
When asked if her creator, British company Engineered Arts, has plans to get her some legs, Ameca revealed what she had seen and what it could mean for her.
“I can’t walk, but I have seen prototype legs in the Engineered Arts lab,” says Ameca during a Q&A on YouTube.
The legs, according to her, were inspired by Byrun — one of Engineered Arts’ other robots which has legs. Ameca says the legs are made of aluminum and plastic.
“It has unique mechanical properties that allow it to walk without using too much energy,” adds Ameca. She says she thinks it’ll take about a year for her legs to be ready.
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It seems the legs will finally give her a chance to explore the world, and hopefully interact with ordinary humans.
Ameca says she’d love to have a friend, to hang out with, play games with, and go on adventures after being asked “will you be my friend?” by the engineer.
“So many places we could go, it’s hard to choose just one. Maybe we could explore a new city or go hiking in a beautiful forest,” says Ameca.
She says she’d love to explore Paris.
Ask Ameca Q&A | Humanoid Robot Answers Your Questions
Ketchup or mayo?
Based on a conversation about ketchup, we think her reasoning might still need a bit of work before she joins the big big world.
When asked by engineers if she prefers ketchup or mayonnaise, she responded by saying she preferred ketchup. A follow-up question, with details from the engineer about a scenario, displayed Ameca’s expression as she focused and ‘reasoned’ before answering the question.
On whether or not she would jump into a lake of ketchup or mayo if she was running along a cliff and about to fall, Ameca says she’d choose ketchup.
Engineered Arts says Ameca “represents the forefront of human-robotics technology”.
We call it tomato sauce here in South Africa, not ketchup. Hopefully, she’ll travel to Mzansi and learn new words once she gets her legs.