A 42-year-old man in Hong Kong spent $50,000 to realize a childhood dream: making a robot modeled on a Hollywood star, Reuters reports. Ricky Ma wouldn't say which Hollywood star his fembot was modeled on, but—as Engadget puts it—"that's obviously Scarlett Johansson." Jezebel concurs, writing, "It does look just enough like Johansson for her to maybe want to consider taking out a restraining order." Still—after a year and a half of work, including teaching himself programming and electromechanics—Ma isn't letting anyone bring him down. "If I realize my dream, I will have no regrets in life," he tells Reuters, which has photos and video of his creation.
Ma built the Mark 1 on the balcony of his apartment. It was a largely lonely experience. "During this process, a lot of people would say things like, 'Are you stupid?'" Ma tells Reuters. Well, he doesn't have to be lonely anymore. His personal robot can change its facial expressions, move its limbs, and bow. It even responds to verbal commands. For example, if you tell it it's beautiful, it will smile and respond with, "Hehe, thank you." And while that might be a little creepy, Engadget notes it's also "really impressive considering that Ma is completely self-taught." Ma hopes some company will buy his robo-Johansson, allowing him to make more. (This robot farm will churn out 30,000 heads of lettuce a day.)
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uBlock 
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