The company’s [Engineered Arts] robots have been sold for research, education and entertainment purposes. However, it recently unveiled its top-of-the line “Mesmer” series, realistic down to the pores and individual hairs. They’re “skinned by the best in the TV and film business,” Engineered Arts explained in the (Westworld-like) promotional video, below. (The model above, called “Fred” is being worked on by Engineered Arts’ prosthetic expert Mike Humphrey.)
It developed “powerful, silent, high-torque motors” to drive Mesmer’s body and head movements, and all the components were designed from scratch so that everything works together perfectly. By contrast, “other companies use a hodgepodge of bits from various vendors that often don’t work well together,” Engineered Arts claims. Each motor can be controlled independently, and what’s more, the main parts (including motors, cameras, depth sensors, LIDAR and microphones) are internet connected devices.
That means that all the robots can be “controlled, monitored, reprogrammed and maintained remotely from anywhere in the world,” said Engineered Arts. (Hopefully there’s incredibly strong encryption, as they’d be an awfully tempting target for hackers.)
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