A video of a humanoid robot reacting to a person wagging a finger in its face has made jaws drop – with some comparing the bot to "the Terminator" and others calling it "awesome".
In the clip, shared on YouTube by its creators Engineered Arts, a metallic robot called Ameca is "watching" the finger with its eye cams.
The robot's realistic "eyes" move back and forth in synch with the finger and it then visibly flinches when the finger comes very close to the face and then it makes a movement like it's trying to smell them.
Moments later, the robot reaches out and grabs the finger in its hand as if it is trying to get it to stop – although it's worth noting the AI is not actually self-aware.
In the description, the company joked their own robot was starting to get a bit too uncanny.
Engineered Arts wrote: "Ameca reacts as things enter their 'personal space'. This is even starting to freak us out at Engineered Arts and we are used to it!"
Since it was uploaded on December 22, the video has been watched more than 170,000 times.
One viewer said: "We won’t think this is great when we realize there’s a human brain in there lol. But seriously that’s awesome."
"This is scary and fascinating at the same time," echoed a second person.
A third user wrote: "Incredible and scary at the same time. This is how the terminator started."
Someone else said: "Holy mackerel! That android has such expressive eyes! I'm loving the facial expressions and movements."
Another user commented: "As someone who followed the tech for a while, I'm impressed at the fluidity of the movements!
"Looking forward to see it walk soon!"
The robot cannot yet walk and Engineered Arts has said it will be "difficult" but "future upgrades" are always in the works.
It said: "The modular architecture allows for future upgrades, both physically and software, to enhance Ameca’s abilities, all without having to fork out for an entire new robot."
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