I Met Protoclone. It’s Actually Insane

In this talk

1. 0:40

   From pneumatic muscles to Myofiber

   Lucas, Clone Robotics’ CTO, began exploring McKibben pneumatic muscles, which contract when pressurized air expands a rubber tube inside a braided sleeve. Early versions lacked strength and needed bulky compressors, so the team switched to water hydraulics. The resulting Myofiber muscles weigh about a gram, can lift over 300 times their own weight, and contract in under 50 milliseconds.

2. 4:01

   A body built around human biomechanics

   Clone began with a robotic hand, then developed a torso and the full Protoclone. The robot has more than 200 joints and over 1,000 artificial muscles attached at anatomically modeled points, with lightweight 3D-printed bones. A hydraulic pump circulates water through the muscles, powering movement and helping manage heat.

3. 10:14

   Sensors and onboard intelligence

   Protoclone uses four depth cameras, more than 500 body sensors, including 70 inertial sensors, and 320 pressure sensors in its muscles and skin. An NVIDIA Jetson chip currently controls the robot, while Clone is developing a model for vision, movement, and real-time reactions. The team expects future versions to distribute some processing across ASICs in the body.

4. 12:18

   Learning to move and work in the real world

   Clone imagines its androids learning household and workplace tasks by observing people and copying their actions. Protoclone is still suspended from cables while the team works on balance, simulation training, and fitting its pump, valves, batteries, and tubing inside the torso. Dhanush argues that giving AI a body makes it more useful for tasks in the physical world, while human-like limits may help make a home robot feel safer.