--- title: "This Robot With a Working Human Face Is Incredibly Unsettling" description: "Chinese robot company DroidUP showed off Moya, a \"warm\" robot that features human-like skin and eerily animated moving facial features." date: "2026-02-08" modified: "2026-02-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/robot-human-face-unsettling" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" --- # This Robot With a Working Human Face Is Incredibly Unsettling ![Chinese robot company DroidUP showed off Moya, a "warm" robot that features human-like skin and eerily animated moving facial features.]() *DroidUP* Last year, 21 humanoid robots [squared up against each other]() in the World Humanoid Robot Games' half marathon race in Beijing in an [unintentionally hilarious debauchery]() of broken limbs, face plants — plus sweaty human engineers, who were forced to accompany them along the way. Coming in third place was a bipedal robot called Walker 2, by the Shanghai-based robotics company DroidUP, an impressive feat that required no battery swaps after an exhausting four hours and 25 minutes of running. Now, the firm has turned its attention to something far more unsettling than watching a robot scuttle across the finish line. DroidUP recently showed off Moya, a "warm" robot that features human-like skin and eerily animated moving facial features. "Warm" isn't just a turn of phrase, either — Moya's skin can maintain a humanlike temperature of 89 to 96 degrees Fahrenheit, a feature that could make it more difficult for DroidUP to argue that the bot isn't [intended for adult purposes](). The company showed off its latest invention at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Shanghai's Zhangjiang Robotics Valley, calling it the "world's first highly bionic robot that deeply integrates human aesthetics and advanced humanoid sports" in a [translated press release](). The bot's face is disarming. The company says it allows for "rich expressions such as joy, anger, sorrow and happiness"; in a [video]() shared by the Chinese goverment-run *Shanghai Media Group* (SMB), Moya can even be seen catching the reporter's line of sight by adjusting the direction of its pupils. But unlike many of its hyper-realistic counterparts, Moya can go for a walk as well. In a demonstration, Moya stiffly walks past the camera as its actuators audibly click along, firmly dispelling the illusion. The company claims Moya has a 92 percent human-like walking accuracy, but given the evidence, we'd wager the real number is less flattering than that. https://youtu.be/AuTbHjCepxs "Most robots on the market today have hard shells and feel cold and mechanical," DroidUP founder Li Qingdu told *SMB* in the video. "A robot that truly serves human life should be warm, have a temperature, almost like a living being that people can connect with." Underneath it all is the company's latest Walker 3 robot platform, which features a suite of cameras and LIDAR sensors that allow for "autonomous path planning and real-time obstacle avoidance capabilities," according to the press release. Compared to its Walker 2 predecessor, who finished third during its half marathon attempt last year, Walker 3 is a lot more compact and lighter, allowing it to be "integrated into a very realistic torso, enabling the creation of a more aesthetically lifelike humanoid robot," as DroidUP product director Tang Jun told *SMB*. **More on humanoid robots:** [*Alarming New Video Shows Robot Making Incredibly Realistic Facial Expressions*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()