By Natasha Anderson for Mailonline
3:38 PM June 11, 2024, updated 3:52 PM June 11, 2024
A factory in China is developing hyper-realistic humanoid robots that can chillingly mimic human facial expressions and emotions in scientists’ latest attempt to replace workers with machines.
Ex-Robots, a robotics company based in the northeastern coastal city of Dalian, is trying to create lifelike droids that engineers hope will soon be used in healthcare and education.
Terrifying images from inside the Ex-Robots factory show workers surrounded by piles of disembodied heads, neck-length silicone masks and spare limbs as they work to construct the most complex class of robotic products in the world.
Drawings of robot designs hang on the walls, while female robots with luxurious wigs and full face makeup are displayed along the factory floor.
Even more disturbing, however, is the way the company’s engineers create robot duplicates of themselves and train them to replicate their expressions and emotions.
Video footage captured from the factory shows a humanoid robot mimicking her exact movement as an ex-Robots employee moves her head, laughs and sticks out her tongue.
The droids use small motors installed in different areas of their heads and artificial intelligence to recognize and mimic human behavior.
“We have our own software and algorithm teams,” ex-Robots CEO Li Boyang revealed.
‘There are many basic models and algorithms that are usually open source and that everyone uses. However, we focus more on how we can enable the AI to recognize and express expressions and emotions.”
He added that the start-up, which was founded in 2009 and started developing humanoid robots in 2016, is also working on its “baseline model.”
“The model we create is multimodal and capable of emotional expression,” Li said. ‘It can sense the environment and produce appropriate facial feedback.’
Ex-Robots said it takes two weeks to a month to produce a humanoid robot, with prices ranging from ¥1.5 million (£162,000) to ¥2 million (£216,000).
The main purpose of the company’s robots so far has been to display in museums, one of which Ex-Robots has housed in the same building as the factory.
Looking ahead, Li believes humanoid robots will play a greater role in healthcare and education.
‘Psychological guidance and healthcare are certainly future application scenarios. We are currently conducting related research such as additional treatment and preliminary screening for emotional and psychological disorders,” he said.
‘Moreover, I believe that emotional interaction has broader applications in services, for example aimed at children.’
Ex-Robots presented its humanoid robots at the World Robot Conference, China’s leading robotics conference and exhibition, in August last year, showcasing its animatronic heads and humanoid robots.
Li said at the conference that humanoid robots are ideal for roles that require interaction with the public, such as in museums, tourist attractions, school environments and “party scenarios.”
The company claimed that the droids personified the image of what robots should be in the popular imagination – with synthetic skin and lifelike facial expressions complemented by moving arms and hands.
Ex-Robots reportedly used 3D scanning, digital design and 3D printing to create their synthetic skin and in 2023 was credited with being the lightest humanoid robot in the world, according to Interesting Engineering.
Ex-Robots opened its EX Future Science and Technology Museum in China’s Liaoning province in 2022, six years after the company began its droid development efforts.
The museum – the country’s first robot museum – aims to immerse visitors in a complete robot experience, even replacing humans with humanoid robots as guides.
The robots also use advanced technology, intelligent voice dialogue and cognitive technology to communicate directly with visitors.
The museum also features an AI robot research center, a bionic robot production center, a bionic experimental module and other advanced exhibits for visitors to explore.