Footage of an artificial intelligence robot that Russian state television used as an example of the country's technological prowess has been exposed as a man wearing a robot suit.
The Rossiya 24 news channel broadcast footage of what it presented as Boris the dancing, singing robot at a technology forum for school pupils.
But viewers and other journalists spotted some human-like movements and other discrepancies – and discovered Boris was in fact a human wearing a robot costume sold by a Russian company.
As the "machine" danced on stage, a presenter had said: "At the forum there's the opportunity to see state-of-the-art robots. Boris the Robot has already learned to dance, and not badly at that."
In the report, the robot also appeared to speak in a metallic voice as lights flashed on its face in different colours, saying: "I'm good at maths but now I want to study art and musical composition."
But images shared online from backstage at the event clearly showed a human inside a robot outfit, through a gap between a bodysuit and a headpiece.
Bloggers found the Robot Show website where the suit, identical to the one shown in the news clip, can be purchased.
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After the clip went viral, Rossiya 24 broadcast an interview with the journalist who made the original report.
"I was absolutely sure everyone would realise it was a costume, like Santa Claus, that this was a project created for children," he said.
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