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automaton were once charge mainly to routine task in manufacturing and logistics , but now they are slow spreading their mechanical limbs and stretching into many other areas of life and science .

While many of these recent golem are useful , some are just plain eldritch . Some apply advanced algorithm to render them unsettlingly human - like , while others have outre design aimed at specific tasks .

Screenshot from a video showing a robotic torso springing to life. The torso and the background are white.

From human-like torsos to nanobots, robots got weirder in 2024.

show on to satisfy seven of the weirdest automaton you could find in the world properly now .

Injectable nanobots

They might sound like something from a cyberpunk film , but injectable nanobots are already a world . Researchers from the University of Edinburgh ’s School of Engineering have develop tinymagnetic robots constitute of blood - clotting drugsthat are designed to melt at a specific temperature , thanks to a special finish . These bot , which are around one-12th the sizing of a crimson blood cell , can be guided through profligate vessel , via external magnets and medical tomography , to the part of the consistence where the drugs need to be administered . Once at that ideal position , the attraction cluster the nanobots together , which get them to hot up up and run , free their warhead of drug .

Atlas by Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics ' Atlas bipedal robot platform continues to acquire . Atlas previouslydemonstrated rudimentary parkour skillsand surprising sleight . Now ithas been instruct to " wake up " from a prone slumbering positionin a manner that ’s rather unsettling . Starting from a face - down position , the golem flex its pegleg backwards past its hips and then use rotatable articulatio coxae spliff to give power and raise itself from the ground .

It may seem like an eerily unnatural movement , but it ’s a safe demonstration of Atlas ' junction and compromising movements and could make it better able to work in dissimilar fields .

Ameca

Dubbed " the world ’s most forward-looking robot , " the 2nd - generation adaptation of Ameca now comes with the ability to expose in particular realistic facial expressions based on its responses to inquiry .

A malleable material covering Ameca ’s nerve , combined with generative contrived news ( AI ) , enables the bot to respond to all personal manner of queries and then perform bridge player movements and facial expressions to complement its answers . Those facial movements are uncannily man - comparable , especially when contrasted with the rest of the robot , which uses a wasted frame with visible hydraulics and looks extremely artificial . While Ameca has yet to be deployed in a commercial setting , its creators at Engineering Arts envision the humanoid robot ’s future as helping in social guardianship or serving as a receptionist alongside actual humans .

Torso by Clone Robotics

A golem powered by a system of battery - operated water pumps and valve does n’t sound hugely strange , butTorso is fairly unnerving . That ’s because it use this system to move a range of stilted bones and brawniness , reduplicate the human torso from the pelvis upwards — all covered in a ghostly white cutis . Despite this human - corresponding frame , the Torso ’s drive are relatively jerky , though it ’s being trained to move in a more instinctive mode .

Clone Robotics , the fellowship behind the robot , finally hopes this engineering will be used in humanoid robots that work on assembly lines , contain out house chores or even aid in telehealth delivery .

Related : Meet ' Chameleon ' — an AI poser that can protect you from facial recognition thanks to a sophisticated digital mask

Microscopic image of engineered magnetic nano-robots that look like tiny circles.

mCLARI

Spiders have long inspire robot in science fiction , but themCLARIactually exists . At just 0.8 inches ( 2 centimetre ) long , the mCLARI is a tiny " wanderer - bot " that employ four leg modules that can move in two dissimilar dimensions , meaning the robot can effectively change shape to get through tight outer space and bypass obstacles .

While the robot does n’t have any forward-looking AI processing and needs to be controlled remotely , its adaptive course could see it pave the way for robots that could grovel among the rubble of a collapsed building or the wipeout go forth by a raw disaster to run for survivors in areas that are difficult to reach .

Desdemona

Desdemona is a humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics — the companionship behindSophia the Robot , which became the world ’s first " robot citizen(of Saudi Arabia , to be precise ) in 2017 . "

Desdemona utilise a large - language model ( LLM ) for its wit and has semisynthetic cutis that can reduplicate naturalistic facial locution . But unlike similar humanoid robots , Desdemona is n’t simply a technical school demonstration , it ’s also a automaton music maven that ’s being set up to be a cultural name with its own way and " personality core " — essentially a database filled with trait and memory that can inform Desdemona ’s future interaction . Desdemona is less about applied science and more about a visual modality of how robots could become societal and cultural figure like their human counterparts .

MenteeBot

While it may look like a rather retro robot , with articulated hands that move with all the gracility of a coach , there ’s a portion more to the MenteeBot than meets the eye . Specifically , it ’s been design to learn as it goes , tapping into AI models to respond to different situations and tasks , such as helping push a trolley car cart for someone in a wheelchair . MenteeBot sport a " Sim2Real " system that cuts down the time it ingest to move from a simulated job to a existent - world one . This , when backed up by reinforcement learning proficiency , a sensor suite and a mix of actuator , could give in a robot in 2025 that can help with tasks ranging from warehouse automation to aiding in domesticated environment .

Casio Moflin

— Boston Dynamics ' golem frank Spot can now ' play fetch ' — thanks to MIT breakthrough

— Large nomenclature models can be bosom onto your phone — rather than require 1000s of waiter to function — after find

— Watch Chinese security robot with wheels for foot shin down hill and do aerobatics

All New Atlas | Boston Dynamics - YouTube

Robot pets are nothing novel , but the Casio Moflin is one of the first that ’s aimed at cuddling and arise a bond with its user . Resembling a hunk of fur bilk with a hamster , Moflin carry tech that enables it to evolve a false personality and recognize its owner ’s voice and how its drug user treat it .

Unlike other robot PET , such as Sony ’s Aibo dog , the Moflin has n’t been designed to chase balls or be an active favourite — rather , it ’s built around bid a consolatory fellow traveler to humans and building a resonance with them . Moflin does n’t need to be fed but will model finger sad or nervous if it does n’t get regular interactions , and those interactions in twist will help develop Moflin ’s personality .

cloud of 30 golem can ' menstruate like water ' and harden up to support the weight of a person

Torso by Clone | Bimanual Android with Artificial Muscles - YouTube

Robots : Facts about machine that can walk , talk or do task that human ca n’t ( or wo n’t )

See the reconstructed home of ' frigid dinosaur ' that expand in the Antarctic 120 million years ago

mCLARI: lateral body compliance robot (IROS 2023 - Best Paper Award) - YouTube

Desdemona the Robot - If I only had a brain | AGI-22 Conference - YouTube

Menteebot following a person to map a new workplace - YouTube

こころであういきもの【Moflin(モフリン)】Promotion Movie | CASIO - YouTube

A painting of a Viking man on a boat wearing a horned helmet

The sun in a very thin crescent shape during a solar eclipse

In the image a silver, faceless, humanoid, robot stands still as a lady take a photo of the robot on her phone

Paintings of animals from Lascaux cave

Stonehenge, Salisbury, UK, July 30, 2024; Stunning aerial view of the spectacular historical monument of Stonehenge stone circles, Wiltshire, England, UK.

A collage of three different robots

Rollable laptop.

A collage of three images of different spacecraft

A brain sculpture made from computer parts

a stylized illustration of a brain

a close-up of a handmade stone tool