Can a robot have a heart, even an electric one? And an artificial blood circulation? Synthetic muscles and tendons? According to Clone Robotics yes, and his android Clone Alpha is living proof of that (almost). An engineering marvel that replicates human anatomy in astonishing detail, from the nervous system to the articulated skeleton. Let's take a closer look at this marvel biomimetic.
Clone Alpha, precision never seen before
Forget traditional, rigid and clumsy robots. Alpha Clone is something completely different. This life-size android boasts an unprecedented level of anatomical realism.
Clone Alpha's Robotic Skeleton faithfully replicates the human one, Complete with 206 bones, albeit with some minor mergers. The joints are fully functional, thanks to artificial ligaments and synthetic connective tissues. The result? Well 164 degrees of freedom of movement in the torso alone, including 20 in the shoulder, 6 per vertebra in the spine, and 26 between the hand, wrist, and elbow. A precision that would make a dancer envious.
But the surprises don't end there. Clone Alpha's artificial muscles, called Myofiber, they anchor themselves to the bones exactly like human ones, guaranteeing strength, speed and efficiency never seen before in a robot. Think that a single “muscle” weighing just 3 grams can exert over 1 kg of force. Westworld, throw away the pasta.
Functioning synthetic organs
Muscles aside, as I wrote, Alpha boasts a complex system of artificial organs that mimic its vital functions. The "heart" is a 500W miniature electric pump, capable of pushing “blood” (actually a hydraulic fluid) throughout the body at a pressure of 6,8 bar.
Just like the real ones veins and arteries, a series of small tubes and valves called Aquajet distribute this fluid to the muscles, consuming less than 1W. Interesting energy efficiency, still to be evaluated.
What's more, Clone Alpha even has a nervous system artificial, as well as a system (what to call it? Synthetic proprioception?) that coordinates movements. Four 3D cameras, 70 inertial sensors and 320 pressure sensors collect data on the position of the “bones” and the strength of the “muscles”. These are transmitted to microcontrollers and finally to the GPU. NVIDIA Jetson Thor which acts as a brain.
The frontier of biomimicry
Clone Robotics, the Polish startup behind Alpha, specializes in replicating biology with mechanics. Their goal is to bridge the gap between robots and living beings by creating machines that are more and more like us, inside and out.
It is no coincidence that Clone Alpha is not the first exploit that bears the company's signature. In 2021, Alpha already amazed the world with a robotic hand with prehensile fingers, equipped with opposable thumb and can grab objects on the fly. Last month, it unveiled a robot torso complete with a moving spine and ultra-realistic elbows and shoulders.
Now comes Alpha to inaugurate the era of the biomimetic androids. A quantum leap that opens up futuristic scenarios previously relegated to science fiction. Could we soon have robots that are truly similar to humans? Synthetic assistants that seem “alive”?
Who knows, maybe yes. Or maybe no. The point is another.
Clone Alpha: The Way of Cross-Pollination
The scientific and technological challenge is still arduous, but exploring the frontiers of biomimicry as Clone Robotics does could have important implications not only in the field of robotics, but also in that of medicineand bioengineering, bionic prostheses.
Learning to artificially replicate such complex biological systems could pave the way for artificial organs almost perfect, robotic arts totally integrated with the body o neural interfaces even more intimate and natural.
In short, observing Clone Alpha one cannot help but be left speechless, amazed, fascinated and perhaps a little disturbed by its resemblance to us. But at the same time we sense that its technology could one day dramatically improve the quality of life of patients, disabled people, and the elderly.
It's the beauty of thecross pollination between different disciplines and approaches. That borderland where engineering, biology and medicine meet and exchange insights, generating disruptive and unexpected innovations.
That borderland that visionary and slightly crazy startups like Clone Robotics have the courage to explore, giving us things that make us dream and reflect on the future that awaits us. A future in which perhaps, who knows, we will be able to look into the synthetic eyes of an android and ask ourselves where the machine ends and where life begins.
