Here’s a close-up look at COSMO, a cartoon-style robot from Netflix’s “The Electric State.” It was made by UCLA’s RoMeLa (Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory), led by Professor Dennis Hong, to bring the fictional character from the movie’s graphic novel to life, focusing on a fun, lively look instead of regular robot efficiency.
COSMO has 28 ways to move (called degrees of freedom), powered by 20 Quasi-Direct Drive (QDD) actuators and 8 servo motors. This lets it do lively, expressive things like walking, waving, or staying steady even if nudged. It’s got a loud, chatty voice with pre-recorded lines that sound like a 1990s cartoon, and it can speak in any language. COSMO’s head, fingers, arms, and legs all move together to show off its personality, making it feel more like a movie star than a typical working robot.
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Its look, based on the movie’s style, has a big yellow head and huge boots—cute but not great for walking. COSMO’s compact body needed to hold batteries, computers, sensors, and actuators, which was tough for the engineers to figure out. RoMeLa had just eight months to build it, adding extra difficulty to the task.
COSMO has custom BEAR actuators from Westwood Robotics, all-in-one pieces designed for robots. They help it move fluidly and full of life, key for both working well and playing its character role.
