--- title: "Russian TV Tried to Pass a Man in a Suit off as A High Tech Robot" description: "Russian state TV didn't go out of its way to admit its robot of the future was in fact a man in a suit." date: "2018-12-13" modified: "2018-12-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/russian-state-tv-man-in-suit-hi-tech-robot" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "robot" - "robotics" - "Russia" --- # Russian TV Tried to Pass a Man in a Suit off as A High Tech Robot ![]() *\Image: Show Robots\* ## Robotnik Not all is what it seems on Russian TV. Government-owned TV station Russia-24 showed off a humanoid robot called "Robot Boris" on stage at a youth forum about the future of robotics. "I know mathematics well but I also want to learn to draw," it yelled out to the crowd in an oddly human tone, as [quoted]() by *The Guardian*. The robot could also be seen dancing alongside two hired dancers. Its movements seemed suspiciously fluid and life-like. And why does it have a flesh-colored neck? https://youtu.be/4YUqUunt3Ns ## Potemkin Robot A Russian blog called TJournal [posed some serious questions]() about the broadcast. Where are the robot's sensors? Why have we never heard of this robot before? Why is the robot dancing so clumsily? Why does it sound like a human being doing a terrible impression of a robot? And yes, they were right. People caught on to the ruse pretty quickly — including [*The Guardian*](). The "hi-tech robot" turned out to be "Alyosha the Robot" — a man in a suit, put together by a company called [Show Robots]() — and yes, that's the real name of the company. It even turns out that you can buy your own robot suit from them for a cool [250,000 roubles]() (just shy of $3,800). ## Robot Who? After the event, organizers denied that they ever tried to pass off the robot as real, *The Guardian* [reports](). But the Russia-24 broadcast never made it clear the robot was a costume. The future will probably be filled with impressive robots. But this wasn't one of them. Even if all attendees and organizers knew the robot was a man in a suit all along, what was he doing at at an event that was meant to inspire the Russian youth? Even a more rudimentary (and real) robot would have been far more suitable. **READ MORE:** [Robot turns out to be man in suit]() \[*BBC*\] ***More on (real) humanoid robots: [Six Life-Like Robots That Prove The Future of Human Evolution is Synthetic]()*** ## 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]()