A new holiday video featuring Humanoid's HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal fuses robotics and pop culture after recreating one of the most iconic scenes from the Christmas classic “Love Actually.”
The minute-and-a-half ad, shared on the British company's YouTube channel on December 22nd, features an AI-powered robot and is clearly inspired by Rowan Atkinson's gift-wrapping scene in the 2003 film.
In the hit scene, Rowan Atkinson's character famously wraps a necklace with exaggerated care and decorations, delaying Alan Rickman's Harry from purchasing it.
The Humanoid video begins inside a minimalist retail store. When a woman enters a store, she places a small robot on the counter, where HMND 01 Alpha is working as a clerk.
Combining robotics and romantic comedy
As the video continues, Alpha politely asks if the purchase should be gift-wrapped, mirroring the tone and pace of the original movie scene. When the customer asks for something “easy,” the robot agrees and begins the task.
Alpha then placed the small robot inside a clear acrylic box, causing customers to question whether the packaging was excessive.
“It's so much more than just a box,” the humanoid confidently replies, before adding decorative stars, pine cones, and candy canes, escalating the scene's absurdity in a clear nod to the original film.
Below is an intentionally exaggerated gift wrap that emphasizes the robot's functionality, but as the decorations pile up, the customer becomes increasingly anxious.
The scene becomes even more comedic when the woman asks the robot to hurry. Alpha calmly replies, “It'll be over soon,” and continues decorating.
When the woman's husband arrives and asks about the delay, the robot explains, “I've only had hands for a week,” a line that subtly hints at the humanoid's learning curve regarding manipulation and dexterity.
applied robotics
As the couple's impatience reaches its peak, Alpha adds the final decoration, a mistletoe leaf, before announcing the results. However, the robot realized that the wrapping had gone too far. While the customer is distracted, slide the overly decorated box aside and replace it with a neatly wrapped red package.
Finally, the robot hands the woman a simplified version. When the couple leaves the store, Alpha announces, “Gift wrapping is complete.” The final scene shows a humanoid casually playing with a small robot on a desk.
This short film reflects broader themes in humanoid robotics, including learning through trial and error and modification. We also highlighted the competencies of adaptability and judgment, which remain challenges in the industry.
Credit: Humanoid / YouTube
“An imperfect and festive film inspired by Rowan Atkinson and classic Christmas comedies,” Humanoid said in a statement. “Robots don't have all the answers from the start, which is why teaching them is so much fun.”
Built in just five months, the 5-foot, 10-inch, approximately 200-pound humanoid robot made waves when it went on sale in early December. Stable bipedal locomotion was achieved within 48 hours of assembly.
By then, the company revealed it had already recorded millions of seconds of simulated experiences. “HMND 01 is designed to address real-world challenges across industrial and domestic environments,” said Artem Sokolov, founder and CEO of Humanoid.
