--- title: "That Robot With the Super Creepy Facial Expressions Is Back, and Yikes" description: "UK-based robotics company Engineered Arts made a big splash with a teaser video of its expressive humanoid robot. Now, it's back for an interview." date: "2022-01-06" modified: "2022-01-06" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/robot-creepy-expressions-back" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "ameca" - "humanoid robot" - "robot" - "the digest" --- # That Robot With the Super Creepy Facial Expressions Is Back, and Yikes ![UK-based robotics company Engineered Arts made a big splash with a teaser video of its expressive humanoid robot. Now, it's back for an interview.]() *\Image: CNET\* ## Only in Ameca UK-based robotics company Engineered Arts made a huge splash last month with a [teaser video]() of its humanoid robot, with [many eerily uncanny expressions](), which went viral on social media. Even the likes of Elon Musk [commented on the video](), noting just how unsettling it was to watch the robot's perfectly executed impressions. Now, we finally get to see more of the robot in action. Engineered Arts took its robot called Ameca — it's a "she" according to its owners, by the way — to this year's CES convention in Las Vegas, and had it sit down for [an interview with *CNET*](). The experience was just as uncanny as we expected, and also made it clear that the extraordinary bot is not the result of CGI trickery. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzBUm31Vn3k ## Uncanny Valley Girl Ameca really looks like she was yanked straight out of a sci-fi movie. "We've all seen it in the movies, we've all seen 'I, Robot' and 'AI Artificial Intelligence,'" Morgan Roe, Engineered Arts' director of operations, told *CNET* via Zoom. "And suddenly, that's real." While Ameca herself didn't talk during the interview, the humanoid robot appeared to react to what Roe was saying, as if a somewhat over-expressive human of flesh and blood was actually standing next to him. Roe also explained that Ameca wasn't meant to visually mimic an actual human being, noting that the team intentionally "pulled it backwards out of the uncanny valley" by giving it a deliberately robotic look. ## Use Case Expression So what will Ameca actually do? "This is mainly probably service robotics," Roe told *CNET*, noting that it would take "say ten to 20 years" for Ameca to mingle with real humans. Roe also explained how the robot can track people's faces using two cameras in each of its eyes. It's a beautiful example of humanoid robotics being taken to its logical conclusion, and an impressive feat of engineering that shows just how far the technology has come. Just don't stare into Ameca's eyes for too long or you might just get fooled into thinking she's real. **READ MORE:** [Ameca the robot is more human (and haunting) than I ever imagined]() \[*CNET*\] **More on the robot:** *[New Video Shows Robot With Terrifyingly 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]()