AN eerie robot factory in China pumps out “skin” covered droids that can be mistaken for a real person in a bid to replace humans.
Bizarre footage shows humanoids with hyper-realistic features and facial expressions being tested at a site in Xi Jinping‘s nation.
The terrifying video shows an engineer next to the carbon copy of himself that flawlessly replicates his facial expressions.
In a separate clip, an army of female robots with bodies made of steel and face full of makeup showcase their flexible hand movements.
Ex Robot, a Chinese startup, started developing their droids in 2016 and six years later opened the first robot museum in the country.
Over 30 bionic robots are put on display at the exhibition hall in Russian-founded city, Dailin.
Just like in the Westworld, you can interact with the droids and listen to the stories of history, science and literature straight from the direct sources.
At least, it would appear so – with the bionic clones of prominent figures such as Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking “telling” historical events to the visitors.
But apart from providing entertainment and education, these humanoids could soon replace you in the workplace.
And the process could even be seamless as the droids can be made to be your doppelganger.
The manufacturing facility boasts humanoids that are trained to mimic different service personnel in various industries.
They can be competent in caring for the elderly, corporate front desks, commercial activities and even government services, Ex Robot claims.
The company website states: “The company is committed to building an application scenario cluster with robots as the core, and creating robot products that are oriented to the whole society and widely used in the service industry.
“We hope to better serve society, help mankind, and become a new pillar of the workforce in the future.”
The humanoids are equipped with dozens of flexible actuators which enable them to move like a human and have the same grasping abilities in their hands.
In 2023, it was reported that EX Robots may have made history by creating the lightest humanoid robot ever and developing silicone skin simulation technology.
The firm combines 3D printing tech with digital design to help achieve the lifelike skin effect for the droids.
It comes amid China’s fierce ongoing tech war with the United States, and as China faces serious demographic challenges – including a rapidly ageing population – as well as a property market crisis.
American firms such as Tesla and OpenAI-backed Figure are already working on humanoid robots.
Tesla’s $20,000 (£16,000) Optimus robot, the prototype for which was unveiled in September 2022, was expected to be mass-produced in three to five years.
China is currently the second-largest holder of humanoid robot patents with 1,699, behind Japan, according to a November report by the Research Institute of People’s Daily Online.
The MIIT last year announced its plans to mass-produce humanoid robots – producing about 500 robots per 10,000 workers – by 2025.
It believes the robots will be helpful for industries like healthcare home services, agriculture, and logistics.
New plans suggest China could soon replace human soldiers with robots in future war scenarios.
Advanced robot soldiers and high-tech drones are expected to be sent to complex overseas missions within the next 10 years.
