8 of the weirdest robots in the world right now
From humanoid AI-powered machines to tiny spider-like bots, 2024's robots are weird.
Robots were once consigned mainly to routine tasks in manufacturing and logistics, but now they are slowly spreading their mechanical limbs and stretching into many other areas of life and science.
While many of these recent robots are useful, some are just plain weird. Some use advanced algorithms to render them unsettlingly human-like, while others have bizarre designs aimed at specific tasks.
Read on to meet seven of the weirdest robots you can find in the world right now.
Injectable nanobots
They might sound like something from a cyberpunk movie, but injectable nanobots are already a reality. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh's School of Engineering have developed tiny magnetic robots formed of blood-clotting drugs that are designed to melt at a specific temperature, thanks to a special coating. These bots, which are around one-12th the size of a red blood cell, can be guided through blood vessels, via external magnets and medical imaging, to the part of the body where the drugs need to be administered. Once at that ideal location, the magnets cluster the nanobots together, which causes them to heat up and melt, releasing their payload of drugs.
Atlas by Boston Dynamics
Boston Dynamics' Atlas bipedal robot platform continues to evolve. Atlas previously demonstrated rudimentary parkour skills and surprising dexterity. Now ithas been taught to "wake up" from a prone slumbering position in a manner that's rather unsettling. Starting from a face-down position, the robot bends its legs backwards past its hips and then uses rotatable hip joints to apply force and raise itself from the ground.
It may seem like an eerily unnatural movement, but it's a good demonstration of Atlas' articulation and flexible movements and could make it better able to work in different fields.
Ameca
Dubbed "the world's most advanced robot," the second-generation version of Ameca now comes with the ability to display particularly realistic facial expressions based on its responses to queries.
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A malleable material covering Ameca's face, combined with generative artificial intelligence (AI), enables the bot to respond to all manner of queries and then perform hand movements and facial expressions to complement its answers. Those facial movements are uncannily human-like, especially when contrasted with the rest of the robot, which uses a skeletal frame with visible hydraulics and looks extremely artificial. While Ameca has yet to be deployed in a commercial setting, its creators at Engineering Arts envision the humanoid robot's future as helping in social care or serving as a receptionist alongside actual humans.
Torso by Clone Robotics
A robot powered by a system of battery-operated water pumps and valves doesn't sound hugely strange, but Torso is somewhat unnerving. That's because it uses this system to move a range of artificial bones and muscles, replicating the human torso from the pelvis upwards — all covered in a ghostly white skin. Despite this human-like frame, the Torso's movements are relatively jerky, though it's being trained to move in a more natural manner.
Clone Robotics, the company behind the robot, eventually hopes this technology will be used in humanoid robots that work on assembly lines, carry out household chores or even aid in telehealth delivery.
mCLARI
Spiders have long inspired robots in science fiction, but the mCLARI actually exists. At just 0.8 inches (2 centimeters) long, the mCLARI is a tiny "spider-bot" that uses four leg modules that can move in two different dimensions, meaning the robot can effectively change shape to get through tight spaces and bypass obstacles.
While the robot doesn't feature any advanced AI processing and needs to be controlled remotely, its adaptive form could see it pave the way for robots that could crawl among the rubble of a collapsed building or the destruction left by a natural disaster to hunt for survivors in areas that are difficult to reach.
Desdemona
Desdemona is a humanoid robot developed by Hanson Robotics — the company behind Sophia the Robot, which became the world's first "robot citizen (of Saudi Arabia, to be precise) in 2017."
Desdemona uses a large-language model (LLM) for its brain and has synthetic skin that can replicate realistic facial expressions. But unlike similar humanoid robots, Desdemona isn't simply a tech demonstration, it's also a robot music star that's being set up to be a cultural figure with its own style and "personality core" — essentially a database filled with traits and memories that can inform Desdemona's future interactions. Desdemona is less about technology and more about a vision of how robots could become social and cultural figures like their human counterparts.
MenteeBot
While it may look like a rather retro robot, with articulated hands that move with all the grace of a bus, there's a lot more to the MenteeBot than meets the eye. Specifically, it's been designed to learn as it goes, tapping into AI models to respond to different situations and tasks, such as helping push a trolley cart for someone in a wheelchair. MenteeBot features a "Sim2Real" system that cuts down the time it takes to move from a simulated task to a real-world one. This, when backed up by reinforcement learning techniques, a sensor suite and a mix of actuators, could yield a robot in 2025 that can help with tasks ranging from warehouse automation to aiding in domestic environments.
Casio Moflin
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Robot pets are nothing new, but the Casio Moflin is one of the first that's aimed at cuddling and developing a bond with its users. Resembling a lump of fur crossed with a hamster, Moflin carries tech that enables it to develop a simulated personality and recognize its owner's voice and how its user handles it.
Unlike other robot pets, such as Sony's Aibo dog, the Moflin hasn't been designed to chase balls or be an active pet — rather, it's built around offering a comforting companion to humans and building a rapport with them. Moflin doesn't need to be fed but will simulate feeling sad or anxious if it doesn't get regular interactions, and those interactions in turn will help develop Moflin's personality.
Roland Moore-Colyer is a freelance writer for Live Science and managing editor at consumer tech publication TechRadar, running the Mobile Computing vertical. At TechRadar, one of the U.K. and U.S.’ largest consumer technology websites, he focuses on smartphones and tablets. But beyond that, he taps into more than a decade of writing experience to bring people stories that cover electric vehicles (EVs), the evolution and practical use of artificial intelligence (AI), mixed reality products and use cases, and the evolution of computing both on a macro level and from a consumer angle.