A Polish-American company has revealed androids powered by artificial muscles and a skeletal structure.
Clone Robotics, a Polish-American robotics firm, has released a viral video showcasing an android prototype called ‘Alpha’. This android mirrors human anatomy with over 1,000 synthetic muscles connected to a complete skeletal model and a complex “nervous system.”
The video, released on Wednesday, shows a suspended, faceless white android twitching as its artificial muscles are activated and has quickly garnered millions of views.
While similar in appearance to humanoid robots like Elon Musk’s Optimus and Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, its underlying design principles distinguish it.
The design incorporates biomimetics— drawing inspiration from biological evolution, like Velcro’s design mirroring plant hooks —to improve the robot’s performance.
The full-body Clone builds upon previous designs, including a humanoid hand and torso, which the creators claim are capable of delicate tasks and possess human-like strength and dexterity. The android is designed to be a domestic assistant, using a natural language interface to understand and execute its owner’s commands. The company intends to produce 279 Clones soon.
Protoclone, the world’s first bipedal, musculoskeletal android.
— Clone (@clonerobotics)
Research into Clone began in 2014, spearheaded by Polish engineer Lucas Kozlik, with California-based mathematician Dhanush Radhakrishnan joining later.
Some media outlets have drawn comparisons between Clone and the realistic robots featured in HBO’s Westworld. Clone Robotics’ website also promotes a project named Neo, described cryptically as a “vision of a limitless future for humanity.”