One man built a robot that looks eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson

There are plenty of humanoid robots in the world, sure, but most of them look like murderous Terminator droids. 

Advertisement

Exhibit A: The Atlas robot from Boston Dynamics.

One man, however, dreamed of a more human-looking droid — one that looks, curiously enough, almost exactly like Scarlett Johansson. 

Exhibit B: the Scarlett Johansson robots, created by Hong Kong native Ricky Ma.

Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot
Yes, that is an autonomous humanoid robot walking through the woods outside of Boston. Boston Dynamics
Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Whoa indeed. Here's how he did it.

Advertisement

"When I was a child, I liked robots," Ma told Reuters. "Why? Because I liked watching animation. All children loved it. There were Transformers, cartoons about robots fighting each other and games about robots."

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

"After I grew up, I wanted to make one," he said. "But during this process, a lot of people would say things like, 'Are you stupid? This takes a lot of money. Do you even know how to do it? It's really hard'."

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Advertisement

The robot reportedly took about 1.5 years to build. Its face is, by far, the most realistically rendered part of the robot.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Over 1.5 years and $50,000 later, Ma realized his goal. It probably doesn't hurt that he's an industrial designer.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Advertisement

Much of its body is made up of 3D-printed parts, like its skeleton.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

More than just a pretty face and...skeleton, Ma's robot can respond to a selection of voice commands.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Advertisement

He dubs the robot "mark 1," as it's his first prototype. Here are just some of the voice commands he can issue.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

According to the Reuters report, ScarJo's robotic doppelganger can also respond to voice.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Advertisement

When the robot is told it's beautiful, "its brows and the muscles around its eyes relax, and the corners of its lips lift, creating a natural-seeming smile, and it says, 'Hehe, thank you.'"

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

Ma's dog doesn't seem to know what to do about its owner's new robot friend.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Advertisement

Watch out for those robot feet, little dog!

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip

About 70% of the robot's body is composed of 3D printed materials. This pile of 3D printed skeletons attests to the amount of iteration that Ma went through.

Scarlett Johansson robot
It also doubles as a killer Halloween decoration. REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Advertisement

Robo ScarJo (RoboJo?) still requires some help standing, as seen here.

Scarlett Johansson robot
REUTERS/Bobby Yip
Hong Kong AI
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.