A 42-year-old graphic designer in Hong Kong has fulfilled his lifelong dream of building his own highly functioning robot, a feat of technology that just so happens to look a lot like Scarlett Johansson. The robot, formally known as Mark 1, was designed and built by Ricky Ma with a budget of more than $50,000. "I figured I should just do it when the timing is right and realize my dream," Ma said of the massive undertaking, according to the Mirror. "If I realize my dream, I will have no regrets in life."
Though the humanoid's resemblance to Scarlett Johansson seems relatively obvious, Ma is reluctant to name the inspiration behind his creation. According to Ma, the robot was indeed "modeled on a Hollywood star" but specifics would not be discussed. "After I grew up, I wanted to make one," Ma said of bringing his vision into existence. However, Ma revealed, the path to crafting this semi-creepy robot wasn't always enthusiastically supported by his peers: "During this process, a lot of people would say things like, 'Are you stupid? This takes a lot of money. Do you even know how to do it?'"
Scarlett Johansson tributes aside, Ricky Ma hopes his accomplishment will help garner attention from potential investors so he can build more future-ready robots. He's also planning to write a book aimed at inspiring other robotics enthusiasts to pursue their own dreams of innovation, an innovation firmly on display with the Mark 1's ability to respond to compliments with a genuine smile and a polite "Thank you."
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