California’s Clone Robotics has gone viral with a video of its Protoclone human robot. The Protoclone’s design mimics the human body, with a full polymer skeleton, articulating joints, and Myofiber muscle system. Each “muscle” can expand and contract individually thanks to a fluid-pump system, resulting in eerily humanlike movements. In the viral video, a suspended Protoclone shows off its realistic, though spastic, movements as individual muscles are actuated. Designed to one day take on household chores and menial tasks, the Protoclone sports over 200 degrees of freedom, over 1,000 Myofibers, and over 200 sensors. These include inertial sensors to keep track of orientation and position of joints, as well as pressure sensors. Clone Robotics says its first limited-run of Clone Alpha robots will be available for preorder later this year, with more details yet to be revealed.
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