Clone Alpha: Water-Powered Humanoid Revealed

In a significant milestone for humanoid robotics, Polish firm Clone Robotics has introduced its first full-scale humanoid robot, Clone Alpha. This innovative android integrates synthetic organs and artificial muscles, closely mimicking human skeletal, muscular, vascular, and nervous functions. The company has now begun accepting preorders for the first 279 units of Clone Alpha, showcasing its ambition to lead in biomimetic robotics.

Biomimetic Robotics: Mimicking Life

While other companies, such as Tesla, focus on household robots, Clone Robotics has taken a bold approach, emphasizing biomimetic design. Founded in 2021, the company aims to replicate the strength and dexterity of human anatomy. Starting with a robotic hand capable of catching a ball with ease, Clone has since advanced to a humanoid torso with lifelike shoulder joints, a movable elbow, and a cervical spine. This expertise culminates in Clone Alpha, which moves with natural fluidity by utilizing artificial muscles powered by water.

Unlike traditional robots, which adapt motions to their rigid structures, Clone Robotics replicates human anatomy first, enabling natural motion. This innovative strategy results in movements that are strikingly realistic and uncannily human.

Breakthrough Technology: Myofiber Artificial Muscles

At the heart of Clone Alpha is Clone’s proprietary Myofiber technology, an advanced artificial muscle system introduced in 2021. These muscles attach to anatomically precise points on a skeleton made of 206 bones, nearly identical to those of the human body.

Key features of Myofiber include:

• Response time under 50ms, enabling fast reactions.
• 30% unloaded contraction, mimicking the flexibility of real muscles.
• High efficiency, producing 2.2 pounds of force with only 3 grams of muscle fiber.

Myofiber eliminates common issues like tendon failures and mimics the speed, strength, and efficiency of mammalian muscles.

Human-Like Structure and Motion

Clone Alpha's skeletal structure is designed with fully articulated joints, artificial ligaments, and connective tissues to achieve lifelike movement. With 164 degrees of freedom in the upper torso, the robot includes:

• 20 degrees of freedom in the shoulder.
• 26 degrees in the hand, wrist, and elbow.
• 6 degrees of movement per vertebra in the spine.

The robot’s nervous system allows instantaneous muscle control, powered by 4 depth cameras, 70 inertial sensors, and 320 pressure sensors for real-time feedback. These systems communicate with NVIDIA’s Jetson Thor GPU running Clone’s Cybernet model, enabling intelligent proprioceptive and visual feedback.

Innovative Vascular System

Clone Alpha’s artificial vascular system is driven by a 500-watt electric pump that functions like a human heart, delivering hydraulic pressure efficiently. Its Aquajet valve technology requires just 1 watt of power, ensuring sustainable operation.

A New Era of Humanoid Robotics

With Clone Alpha, Clone Robotics has set a new benchmark in the industry, focusing on natural movement, strength, and dexterity. As it begins production of its first units, the company continues to push the boundaries of robotics with lifelike designs and innovative artificial muscle technology.

Clone Alpha signals a shift in humanoid robotics, offering a glimpse into a future where androids closely mimic the capabilities of biological beings. By combining cutting-edge technologies with biomimetic principles, Clone Robotics is poised to transform the field and redefine what robots can achieve.