SCREENGRAB from Guff Tech’s Instagram account
Rick Ma, a 42-year-old graphic designer from Hong Kong, built a robot that can be Hollywood actress Scarlett Johannson’s humanoid doppelganger.
The inventor and graphic designer of 24 years based his creation on his childhood dream of assembling his own robot based from scratch and recyclable materials. He baptized his humanoid robot as Mark 1.
He said that it took him nearly 18 months and $50,000 (PhP 2.3 million) to design and construct the robot.
Materials such as a 3D printing machine, vacuum casting machine, and liquid silicon were used to mold the robot’s structure. A 3D printed skeleton was wrapped in liquid silicon that serves as the robot’s ‘skin’. Ma would speak in a microphone and Mark 1 would respond using pre-programmed verbal phrases. For instance, when Ma commends the robot on her gorgeous looks, Mark 1 would reply ‘Thank you’ and wink.
Just like any other inventor, Ma bumped into roadblocks in his goal. He never studied electromechanics and programming, and many people chided his costly project. Despite these, he passionately pursued his dreams to building Mark 1.
Ma hopes that an investor would purchase his prototype for him to produce more robots. He also has aspirations to write a book to inspire other enthusiasts to create their own ‘Mark 1’. Gianna Francesca Catolico, INQUIRER.net