A Russian robotics company has issued an unusual offer. The company is willing to pay someone $200,000 to use their face and voice for a human-like robot.
According to a press release, Promobot has been “seeking a face for a humanoid robot-assistant which will work in hotels, shopping malls, and other crowded places. The company is ready to pay out $200,000 to somebody willing to transfer the rights to use one’s face forever,” per Gizmodo.
While applications are now closed, the company was looking for people of all genders and races over the age of 25. Besides that, the only particular qualification was that the person have a “kind and friendly” face.
“Our company is developing technologies in the field of facial recognition, as well speech, autonomous navigation, artificial intelligence, and other areas of robotics,” Promobot said in a statement. “Since 2019, we have been actively manufacturing and supplying humanoid robots to the market. Our new clients want to launch a large-scale project, and as for this, they need to license a new robot appearance to avoid legal delays.”
Promobot’s American client will use the robot-assistant both in North America and the Middle East, with the robot’s “activities” beginning in 2023. The number of applications was fulfilled on Monday and the project has now been removed from the company website.
“Today we have received over 20,000 applications and our client has decided to suspend the request collection. We want to say thanks to all participants,” an update on the Promobot site reads.
According to Newsweek, the humanoid robot will feature a 3D model of the applicant’s face and body. The applicant will also have to record around 100 hours of speech to be used for the robot’s voice.
