Bizarre News Science & Technology Russia’s ‘Most Advanced Robot’ Revealed to Be Man in a Robot Suit

Delightful story from the wonderful world of Mysterious Universe.(Great site, please support them) How typically Russian. Masters of bluffery!

Brett TingleyDecember 15, 2018

Oh, Russia, don’t ever change. While China, Japan, and the U.S. continue to make great strides in robotics, Russia…well, isn’t quite there yet. Throughout 2016 and 2017, robots kept allegedly escaping from Russian robotics labs and causing all sorts of tomfoolery, then last year, a Russian robotics company drew jeers online when it published a clearly staged video of a supposedly highly sophisticated robot saving a little girl from a falling bookcase. Just when we all thought the Russian robotics industry couldn’t get any more laughable, this next incident happened.

IN MOTHER RUSSIA, ROBOT SUIT WEAR YOU.

At Russia’s annual “PROJECT” scientific expo in the city of Yaroslavl, one robot in particular as a shining example of what Mother Russia has to offer the robotics world. “Boris,” as the robot is known, was shown walking around, giving fist bumps to expo attendees, performing mathematical calculations, and even dancing. The audience at the expo was blown away by Boris’ capabilities, and news outlets throughout Russia played featured clips of Boris in their coverage of the technology conference. There’s only one problem with Boris: he’s just some dude in a suit.

People in cardboard robot suits.

File footage from last year’s expo.

As soon as videos of Boris hit the news cycle, social media users noticed that the allegedly advanced robot sure didn’t appear all that advanced. Unlike notable humanoid robots like Honda’s ASIMO, Boris appeared to move just a little too humanlike, particularly when dancing or hugging attractive female expo-goers. A few even noticed just a bit of human skin poking out of the “robot’s” neck. Whoops. Most telling is the awful imitation robot voice the guy inside the suit tried to pull off. Come on, man. You’re not fooling anyone.

A few quick Google searches later, and social media users discovered Boris the “robot” bore a striking resemblance to a robot costume available online for 250,000 rubles, or around $4,000 USD. According to the costume’s manufacturer, “the design and technical execution of this costume create an almost complete illusion that you have a real robot. Therefore, everyone wants to make a selfie with him.” The illusion sure seems to have worked. While Russian news outlets and robotics makers are surely embarrassed by the recent mix-up, all the press is no doubt great exposure for the makers of the Boris costume.

cardboard robot

This year’s model is significantly better than last year’s (pictured).

If you can’t beat ’em, just give up and stick a guy in a suit.

Tags humanoid robot robot robotics Russia

Brett Tingley is a writer and musician living in the ancient Appalachian mountains. You can follow Brett on http://www.facebook.com/tingleybrett

Martin Harris

I have a lovely partner and 3 very active youngsters. We live in the earthquake ravaged Eastern Suburbs of Christchurch, New Zealand. I began commenting/posting on Uncensored back in early 2012 looking for discussion and answers on the cause and agendas relating to our quakes. I have always maintained an interest in ancient mysteries, UFOs, hidden agendas, geoengineering and secret societies and keep a close eye on current world events. Since 2013 I have been an active member of theCONTrail.com community, being granted admin status and publishing many blogs and discussion threads. At this time I'm now helping out with admin and moderation duties here at Uncensored where my online "life" began.

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