Over the last few years there has been a lot of talk about robots that are not only functional but are actually entertaining as wel and that look human. Now it appears there is one company that can actually give you a clone.
Of course while human cloning is still very much illegal everywhere in the world, making replicas of people is most decidedly not and one Japanese company is taking advantage of that particular “loophole”. Robots that people can actually sit back and enjoy watching go to work have long been popular such as the can-crushing robot and the hugging robot. But new robotic looking dolls that can actually take on your face should be able to surpass their popularity pretty quickly.
These “clone dolls” that are put together by the Clone Factory are used by using some pretty advanced technology. When a potential customer first goes to this company they will sit in the middle of the room surrounded by SLR cameras that will take a 3-dimensional picture of your face. The pictures and statistics of the 3D model are then loaded into a special program and are textured over the right kind of doll head, including stretching the details should the customer want a huge doll that is less clone and more big brother.
The data is then sent to a 3D printer that has a tray of plaster which uses a special ink that actually hardens inside the plaster. Once the printing is done, the figure is put into another machine that uses high powered blasts of air to clear away the excess plaster. Once that is done the face is ready to be put on whatever body you might choose for your clone. You can either get something that actually looks like you, or put your face on a gorilla’s body if that suits you.
In the end these little dolls do little more than bring a little laughter (or creepiness) into your life but it does show just how far commerical technology is coming. Could robots that actually sport human faces of your favorite actress or actor really be that far from hitting the market?
