Eccerobot, 'Anthropomimetic' Robot, Has Human-Like Joints, Bones, Tendons (VIDEO)

We may not be able to build a human-like replicant just yet, but robotics engineers have managed to create a machine man that's far more realistic than C-3PO.

ECCEROBOT, short for Embodied Cognition in a Compliantly Engineered Robot, might not look much like a human, but its artificial bones, joints and tendons mimic our own, allowing for complex movements.

The creepy-looking device, created by a consortium of engineers in five countries, is billed as the first 'anthropomimetic' robot. That means that "Instead of just copying the outward form of a human, it copies the inner structures and mechanisms," according to the project's website.

Will Eccerobot impersonate humans and infiltrate our society to achieve its nefarious goals? Not quite. Believe it or not, it's designed to advance research in artificial intelligence.

Project leader Dr. Owen Holland, professor of cognitive robotics at the University of Sussex in England, believes that "Our physical form actually helps shape the way we think, and without a body, artificial intelligence cannot exist," according to a BBC report.

See more videos of creepy robots in the slideshow below.