I have been doing some research because I'm very interested in how the Ameca robot is put together, I assumed she must have some super advanced hardware components. I will refer to her as female as long as Engineered Arts keeps using her female voice.
I figured she probably didn't have an onboard cpu. If you really think about it, you don't need lots of microchips and memory storage inside a robot. All that hardware would generate lots of heat and require tons of cooling. All the hardware can be run in house on a server or super computer but Ameca doesn't need all that.
Personally I can't wait for the day when an android can walk about, communicate and be useful to society without having to depend on the cloud or a connected computer. I believe we will have to wait for advanced quantum computer chips for that to happen.
I was surprised to find out that the tritium software the company uses to power most of their humanoids can be installed on a laptop or even a smartphone. They can control these robots and program them easily without any huge server farm or powerful computers.
This is because Ameca is simply a shell to support future A.I development. She is designed to be easily upgraded with both physical improvements and software. The company anticipates high demand for their product and wants to be prepared to deliver regular upgrades. But those upgrades will only be physical in nature and slight tweaks to her basic interactive software. Her real power will come when other big A.I players buy copies of her and begin using and developing their own A.I to run on Ameca's frame. That's right you can own your very own Ameca humanoid robot.
There are many great companies in the humanoid robotics space that have great A.I programs they use in their androids and gynoids. Take Sophia from Hanson robotics for example. Imagine if one of these powerhouse artificial intelligence companies were to use their programs in an Ameca model.
The combination of advanced human interactive A.I and a lifelike automaton like Ameca could bring about the demand for robotic companions, servants and caretakers we need to really see this industry bloom.
There are many questions people ask about Ameca and I have tried to do as much research as possible on my own to come up with the best answers.
Who created Ameca?
The company is called Engineered Arts and they have been creating robots for a long time. Look into their Mesmer and Robothespian robots.
How much does Ameca cost?
Right now about $750k but I'm sure that price will come down as more units are sold. As Ameca becomes more popular mass production will kick in and lower the price significantly. Also you can rent an Ameca for your events if the purchase price is to steep for your budget.
How do you program Ameca and get her to do or say what you want?
Ameca comes with lifetime tech support provided by Engineered Arts. Also future upgrades in software will be available in the future as well as possible physical enhancements. Ameca is very easy to program using the tritium system. You can control her from a computer or smartphone.
Can Ameca walk?
Not yet, the company has said she will be walking in 12 to 18 months. That being said it would not surprise me if there are already walking experiments going on in the lab already.
Even though there are many walking robots already, none of them have human-like legs. Ameca is very much a robot in human form like none we have seen. Obviously something created so close to human likeness is going to take time to fully develop human bipedal motion.
When will Ameca become fully sentient?
A lot of people want to believe that fully sentient or what we might call living machines are just around the corner but nothing could be further from reality. We are probably not that far away from robots that can walk around in public and interact with humans. I'm thinking of the first generation of robots in the movie I robot that could walk and carry luggage. This could be 10 to 15 years away but these machines will seem more like zombies than humans. They will have that dead feeling to them. They will be very animated though, even more so than Ameca and we may find ourselves willing to be fooled by their synthetic charms.
Real thinking self conscious androids are decades away. We must first be able to simulate a human brain before we can create the software to make one for a machine and currently we can't even simulate a mouse brain.
Is Engineered Arts a publicly traded company?
Not yet but hopefully soon they will have an IPO and there will be a stock symbol we can invest in. They do a lot of work with Disney. A lot of the animatonics in Disney parks are made by Engineered Arts so you might want to keep an eye out for future investment opportunities with these companies.
Is Ameca better than Sophia?
Yes and no. Ameca is much more lifelike than Sophia but neither robot is really very advanced when it comes to artificial intelligence. They are both preprogrammed to respond with preselected answers to questions. But looking more like a human gives Ameca an advantage over Sophia. I believe people will tend to overlook flaws in programming if the package looks pretty.
What is the future of Ameca?
I believe Ameca could be the forerunner of a new age of humanoid robots. But in order for her to become more other companies must invest and start using this platform in their A.I projects.
Image provided royalty free from pixabay.
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