Animatronic Robot Baby Replaces Premature Infants On-Screen (WATCH)

The wriggling, the squirming, the Moro reflex-induced jump... If you want proof that artificial intelligence is thriving, look no further than this robotic -- and yes, somewhat creepy -- baby.

The video below shows the animatronic infant lying on its back doing a pitch-perfect newborn impersonation. Babble.com reported that it was created for a UK soap opera by special effects designer, Chris Clarke, who also lent his talents to technically rich movie "War Horse." And, while jaw-dropping special effects are standard fare on screen, this electro-infant is especially surprising to watch.

Clarke told The Huffington Post that creating an animatronic human required a significant amount of research -- including an investigation into the psychology of babies.

"[A baby's] brain is still trying to figure out which electrical impulses control which body parts...I design the mechanics to move generically the way a baby does, [and] the rest is getting into the head of the baby when puppeteering it," Clarke wrote in an email.

Many bloggers and online commenters have called the animatronic baby "creepy" and "freaky" -- Technabob even ran a post about the clip with the headline "Skinless Robot Baby is the Stuff Nightmares Are Made Of." But, whether you are horrified or fascinated, there is no denying that Clarke's tiny robots serve an important purpose -- keeping real infants safe.

"Keep[ing] a real premature baby on set all day under hot studio lights just isn't something that's done," said Clarke. "It can be the same for [non-premature], healthy babies too."

Here at HuffPost Parents, we'll take a "freaky" fake baby instead of endangering a real infant any day. Let us know what you think in our poll.

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Amazing -- how did he make that thing?

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Comments

[brothers3]

05:26 PM on 02/08/2013

I saw a demonstration of one of these babies in front of the Chinese Theater in Hollywood 20 years ago. The baby used then had skin made of latex. It looked very real, even "in the flesh".

[Dianevw]

09:53 PM on 01/29/2012

As the mother of a premature baby (born at 28 weeks), it is offensive to me, that someone thinks these movements can portray what it is like to have a child who is born without many of the skills or physical maturity a full-term baby has. Many preemies do not have fully formed ears or genetaillia and do not have lung capacity or sucking reflex, etc. While I believe it is important to bring this information TO LIGHT, I feel that this animation is MAKING LIGHT of this fact.

[misterstudebaker]

12:34 PM on 01/26/2012

What does it do? Excrete dead batteries?

[rtgmath]

11:09 AM on 01/26/2012

This is important work. What would make it even better is if the programming could essentially tell the machine it should move in order to find out what it can do.

I know that AI programming -- programming a computer or robot to "learn" is difficult. Programming a computer to try to learn like a human child is even more difficult. Muscle memory, for instance, is developed by trial and error. Practice allows brain/muscle coordination to be achieved over time. Walking is a skill that requires this sort of coordinated memory.

So the robot baby is a start, and a good one. Now for the next part, not just movement that appears like a baby's, but *is* like a baby's. Movement with a purpose - to use its hands to grasp and manipulate, to use its hands and legs to crawl, to be able to balance and to walk.

[Steve Lives]

01:29 PM on 01/26/2012

This is 2 years old, so you can imagine how much further along it is, but check out this video.
Asimo is Learning - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9ByGQGiVMg

[BannedFromCommenting]

10:56 AM on 01/26/2012

Pitch perfect? Hardly.. Creepy? No. What they need to get fixed is the movements from one direction to the other. Its too jerky. its more smooth than that in humans. if they can get that down.. they will be on their way.. plus preemies never move that much.

[dynasty8907]

10:11 AM on 01/26/2012

Not creepy at all. It's pretty frickin' sweet.

[UserNameJane]

10:03 AM on 01/26/2012

Give me a break, that was not creepy, Has the person that wrote this heard of technology, Its kind of cool, but no big deal.

[Sandmanj]

10:02 AM on 01/26/2012

T3

[ogalalaway]

09:44 AM on 01/26/2012

Infant Terminator

[The Mask]

09:40 AM on 01/26/2012

Reminds me of an old JulieChristie movie from 1971.

[BannedFromCommenting]

10:57 AM on 01/26/2012

Oh yeah where the robot impregnated her?? That was great.

[The Mask]

11:07 AM on 01/26/2012

that one. Title does not pass word s/w.

[an seanchus mor]

09:17 AM on 01/26/2012

Remember that Elmo talking singing toy that frightened children worldwide about three Christmases ago?

[urface]

09:15 AM on 01/26/2012

the uncanny valley

[BannedFromCommenting]

10:57 AM on 01/26/2012

LOL, yes!!

[ReadMyLipstick1]

09:07 AM on 01/26/2012

I think this is just amazing and very cool! Think of the potential for this and "others" like it! I have heard that the military utilizes some sort of robotic assistance in a number of ways and something like this could be very well utililzed in many areas!

Little robot babies could replace the baby dolls now used in high schools to educate young men and women about the real life issues of dealing with an infant .............. the possibilities are endless!

[Roommate]

09:06 AM on 01/26/2012

how much did it cost to make that

[daverfuller39]

09:02 AM on 01/26/2012

What was the point in this?