Robot with 1,000 Muscles Shows Human-like Twitches

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Selasa, 25 Februari 2025 - 16:05 WIB

Jakarta, VIVA – A company from Poland, Clone Robotics released video footage of its Protoclone humanoid robot, a full-body machine that uses synthetic muscles to create unsettlingly human-like movements.

In the video, the robot hangs suspended from the ceiling as its limbs twitch and kick, marking what the company claims is a step toward its goal of creating household-helper robots.

Clone Robotics designed the Protoclone with a polymer skeleton that replicates 206 human bones.

The company built the robot with the hopes that it will one day be able to operate human tools and perform tasks like doing laundry, washing dishes, and preparing basic meals.

The Protoclone reportedly contains over 1,000 artificial muscles built with the company's "Myofiber" technology, which builds on the McKibbin pneumatic muscle concept.

These muscles work through mesh tubes containing balloons that contract when filled with hydraulic fluid, mimicking human muscle function. A 500-watt electric pump serves as the robot's "heart," pushing fluid at 40 standard liters per minute.

Clone Robotics is not the only company chasing practical humanoid robots. In the past, we've covered human-shaped robots from Boston Dynamics, Unitree, Figure, and Tesla, among others.

Meanwhile, tech companies such as Nvidia, Google, and Microsoft are in a heated race to develop AI models that can competently and safely make future household robots autonomous.

While the Protoclone is a twitching, dangling robotic prototype right now, there's a lot of tech packed into its body.

Protoclone's sensory system includes four depth cameras in its skull for vision, 70 inertial sensors to track joint positions, and 320 pressure sensors that provide force feedback.

This system lets the robot react to visual input and learn by watching humans perform tasks.

As you can probably tell by the video, the current Protoclone prototype is still in an early developmental stage, requiring ceiling suspension for stability.

Clone Robotics previously demonstrated components of this technology in 2022 with the release of its robotic hand, which used the same Myofiber muscle system.