Watch This Robot Use Human-Like Artificial Muscles

If you want a robot to look, act, and move like a human, then it has to be designed like a human. Which is harder than it looks — there are 206 bones in our bodies and at least 640 muscles. Enter the Suzumori Endo Robotics Laboratory and the beginning of the end of flesh and blood dominance.

Researchers at Suzomori Endo created multifilament artificial muscles that contract and expand just like human muscles. Those were then put on an artificial human skeleton in similar number and in a similar pattern as human muscle structure. The result: an eerie, skinless humanoid that can (almost) move as smoothly as a real person.

Each of the bands of multifilament muscles is controlled by electric current. The artificial muscles push and pull just like in the human body, except they are far too weak for any real action at this point in development. But it’s only a matter of time.

Confused? The robot uses its muscled jaw (albeit muscled with a cross bite) to explain for itself.

It’s no walking Atlas robot, but it can chew a cheesy poof with artificial muscles.

The muscled-up skeleton (which is lacking a fear inspiring name) is something straight out of an eighth grade science student’s nightmare. Soon as the thing can walk on its own it will escape the science closet, rip off the Post-It notes labeling all of its bones, and search for flesh of its own. After it dominates humans using their own muscle structure it will fight the Atlas robot in a snowy landscape for what will control Earth.

People have already shown that the best way to destroy humans is other humans. Why not a robot that copies the human body?