A museum in China is developing realistic robots with veins on their legs and goosebumps on their skin, taking cues from science fiction. The EX Museum of Future and Science in Dalian, China, showcases advanced forms of robotics technology aimed at making robots as customizable and realistic as possible.
According to a tour of the museum’s research and design center broadcast by the Chinese state-affiliated media channel CGTN, technicians at the museum can scan features and limbs to create dynamic 3D robots.
In a YouTube video, a journalist’s features are scanned to “customize his android”. Parts of his body are then 3D printed. The video shows a 3D-printed robotic limb controlling its movements through a wearable glove.
“The leather is made of medical grade bionic silicone and has goosebumps on the skin, veins on the feet and lines on the palms — all very realistic,” said Yang Jianguo, vice president of the museum, in a conversation with CGTN.
The museum’s robots were also removed from its campus. In a video uploaded to Facebook in November, one of the museum’s robots wears a face shield and directs people to COVID-19 testing sites in Dalian.
The museum, which opened in September 2021, also features robots inspired by Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs.
China has taken strides forward in the artificial intelligence industry in recent years, even creating realistic and wildly popular AI idols to manage their marketing campaigns. The country has also installed a number of robots during the Beijing Olympic Games, with robot chefs preparing meals and robotic “waiters” who unload food onto tables.
In 2018, Guangdong-based sex doll makers WMDOLL developed an artificial intelligence-powered sex doll equipped with a database of words to answer key questions. That same year, Chinese media outlet Sixth Tone reported that EXDOLL, also a Dalian-based company, a sex doll maker, is working on a “smart” sex doll that can wash dishes and chat…
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