What would you do with a robot body double? Film an advertisement may not be at the top of your list, but it was for YouTuber Tom Scott. His latest video shows him interacting with a realistic robotic version of himself. UK company Engineering Arts made the body double. And they take commissions! Though based on Scott’s reaction, coming face to face with your robotic body double is a freaky experience.
Tom Scott’s robotic twin is one of the company’s earlier generation, named Mesmer. The team took a 3D scan of his head and converted it to silicone. Then they draped it over the robotic infrastructure and someone painstakingly added hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes and painted the skin to match photos of Scott. As shown in the video, which we found on Laughing Squid, it’s even wearing his signature red shirt. Mesmer can also be programmed to make small movements to match people’s expressions.
The latest generation robot from Engineering Arts, Ameca, is one of the freakiest robots we’ve ever seen. It has smoother movements and more muscles in its nose and eyebrows to perfect facial expressions. It is incredibly realistic, right down to its dislike of boops on the nose. The company says Ameca’s main uses are for entertainment, communication, and education. But we’re pretty sure it’s aiming for world domination. With the same thought in mind, Scott made sure to shut down his robot double before leaving.
Of all the things to do with your robot body double, why is it that Scott films an advertisement? Turns out a video he made in 2019 about the false claims in VPN advertisements meant he could never get sponsorship from a VPN. But the robot version of himself isn’t blacklisted. Turns out, a VPN company not only sponsored the video but also the unspecified cost of the body double itself.