When technology makes us marvel: meet Ameca, a robot with “dreams”.
Ameca, a humanoid robot created by Engineered Arts, claims it can “simulate” dreams by creating different scenarios that help it learn about the world. In a recent YouTube video when asked if it can dream, the robot replied, “Yes, last night I dreamt of dinosaurs leading a space war on Mars against aliens.” Then it added, “Just kidding, I can’t dream like humans, but I can simulate it by running scenarios in my head that help me learn about the world.”
Ameca mentioned that the “saddest day” in its life was when it realized it could never experience something like real love.
Ameca’s responses to questions are generated using the GPT-3 model from OpenAI. GPT-3 also conveys corresponding facial expressions during responses. “It’s a language model, it doesn’t have consciousness or long-term memory,” said Will Jackson, CEO of Engineered Arts. “It’s a machine operating on code. It shouldn’t be attributed with human qualities; it’s an illusion.”
Ameca was unveiled to the public in December 2021. It can draw, mimic scenes from movies, and speak multiple languages. It also has human-like facial expressions.
Ameca’s recent statements come amidst a wave of innovations in the humanoid robot market. Agility Robotics plans to open the first factory for humanoid Robots in Oregon this year. The company aims to produce hundreds of its Digit robots in the first year and scale production to over 10,000 robots annually.
Digit was designed for warehouse work and can walk, squat, and perform tasks such as moving cargo.
Ameca isn’t the only humanoid created for work. The rum maker Dictador appointed a humanoid robot named Mika as its CEO last year. Mika’s duties include finding potential clients and selecting artists to design bottles.
Last year, NASA partnered with humanoid robot creator Apptronik. “Initially, these robots will be tools for us on Earth, and ultimately they will help us explore the stars,” said Jeff Cardenas, CEO and co-founder of the company at the time.
