Former sex robot company Realbotix has launched an impressive range of new humanoids that come in two versions: tabletop (upper torso) and standing (full-length bodies). Judging from videos of the humanoids in action, their facial expressions and movements, as well as lip-syncing performance, have had major upgrades, rendering them startlingly real when talking. Whilst the full-body versions cost a whopping $59,950, the table-mounted humanoids cost a more enticing $11,950. These definitely aren’t sex robots, but Realbotix is still pitching these new humanoids as potential “social companions”. There are two female Echos and two males, all of them attractive and each with a unique personality.
The official Realbotix video above has drawn some skepticism, with one commentator saying, “BS regarding the authenticity of the lip-syncing; it appears to be digitally rendered rather than a result of actual mechanical movements from the animatronics.” This could be the ultimate compliment if the video is real, and I would have thought that Realbotix – a company listed on several stock exchanges – might be in some trouble if they were purposely deceiving potential investors as well as buyers (though Tesla has been accused of AI-editing Tesla Bot videos).
Only last week I reported on the desktop humanoid companions of Shanghai company Figurobot and noted that this was a growing industry. You will need a lot of space on your desktop to fit one of the Echo humanoids on it, but Realbotix have produced promotional illustrations showing them mounted on a coffee table, for education, wellness, or elderly care.
Realbotix also intend to introduce a “digital twin” feature for the humanoids in 2027, which will enable owners to remotely interact with their chosen model via their smartphone or PC. According to Interesting Engineering, Realbotix says that encrypted memories and preferences will carry across digital and physical versions of the same character.
Related posts:
Figurobot Launches Latest Desktop Humanoid Companion
UBTech Launch First Life-Size Humanoid Companions – But Don’t Call Them Sex Robots!
Realbotix Showcase “Melody” Humanoid Robot with “39 Degrees of Freedom”
Realbotix Robot Now Speaks 15 Languages Fluently
Realbotix Faces Backlash Over Plan to Introduce its Robots in NY Schools
