The future of robotics is here—and it’s deeply unsettling. A startup called Clone Robotics has unveiled a muscle-powered robot that looks like it just crawled out of a sci-fi horror film.
Dubbed the “Protoclone,” this humanoid machine is supposedly the world’s first bipedal, musculoskeletal android, but most people who’ve seen it can only focus on one thing: how utterly terrifying it looks.
A recently released video showcases Protoclone in action—though “action” might not be the right word. The robot, faceless and unnervingly human-like, writhes and flails its artificial limbs in a way that’s eerily organic yet completely unnatural.
It’s made up of a tangle of exposed synthetic muscles and a cadaverous frame, and it moves like something that shouldn’t exist—a mechanical corpse attempting to rise. Rather than presenting its muscle-powered robot as a friendly household robot, Clone Robotics leans into the uncanny horror.
The video is set to a menacing cinematic score, making the entire reveal feel less like a tech demo and more like a deleted scene from Westworld. Social media reactions have been swift and horrified, with some even comparing it to a science experiment gone wrong.
According to Clone Robotics, Protoclone is powered by over 1,000 Myofibers—the company’s proprietary artificial muscle technology. Unlike traditional robots that rely on motors and rigid joints, this muscle-powered robot mimics human anatomy, allowing for flexible, organic movement.
It even has a hydraulic system designed to work like human blood vessels, sending power through its artificial limbs. But does that make it useful? So far, Protoclone hasn’t done much except flail around ominously.
While the company claims this is just the beginning, many robotics experts remain skeptical. We’ve already seen similar muscle-based robots before and none of them had these unsettling theatrics. But, perhaps that’s just Clone Robotics way of standing out from the crowd.
If you’re intrigued (or just want to terrify your houseguests), Clone Robotics plans to take pre-orders this year for a more refined version called Clone Alpha. They claim this version of the muscle-powered robot will eventually be capable of performing household chores. However, the thought of a faceless, writhing android washing dishes in the dark is enough to spark nightmares.
