How TV’s Coolest AI Robots Came to Life

In Sunnyit’s a robot that steals the show.

Apple TV+’s dark comedy follows the tumultuous relationship between Suzie (Rashida Jones) and her eponymous housekeeper, Sunny (voiced by Joanna Sotomura). Sunny isn’t just a hulking, gray robot with delayed reactions; she’s a housekeeper with impressive agility and emotional intelligence.

In Japan, where the series is set, this AI bot arrives at Suzie’s doorstep at her husband’s electronics company as a consolation gift after he and their son disappear in a plane crash. Sunny starts out as a surrogate companion, but becomes a central character who is just as important as Suzie.

Although Sunny is based on the 2018 novel by Colin O’Sullivan The Dark ManualWhile the series does take some creative liberties in its editing (for example, the male robot in Robbins’ production is gender-swapped), Sunny’s unsettling presence helps.

In the book, O’Sullivan describes Suzie’s initial investigation of the homebot: “It has no functions. It can’t show surprise, fear, or confusion, and yet Susie can see all these emotions on its blank, blank face. Emotions? Is that what she means?” This combination of AI and emotional intellect is the core focus for Sunny.

“It was interesting to think about Sunny in as simple a way as possible, while still maintaining some sort of emotional capacity,” showrunner Katie Robbins explained to The Daily Beast’s Obsessed in a recent interview.

Robbins’ journey in creating Sunny’s anthropomorphic presence began with research into human-robot interaction. Robbins theorized that someone (for example, with severe depression or in the early stages of dementia) can get into the habit of interacting with a robot and then slowly become more comfortable reconnecting with humans. Sunny takes on this responsibility in Suzie’s life during a time of inconsolable grief, she is the only ‘being’ that Suzie can unashamedly express herself to.

“On some level, there’s something incredibly compelling and seductive about Sunny. In one scene she’s cute and the next she’s a total murderous bitch,” Robbins noted. “Both of those things feel very true to this tipping point that we’re at as a society; AI is this bright, shiny object and it’s also really, really dangerous.”

Sunny’s simple aesthetic—with the clean lines of Japanese design, painted a glossy eggshell white, and Kawaii expressions—provides a canvas upon which human emotion can be applied. Sunny is also petite and has an unexpected agility that allows her to engage in human activities: mixing a drink, making an omelet, and playing shogi.

Robotics engineer Craig Hobern joined the project during the design process, building prototypes of mechanisms and control systems to achieve this level of motion. Hobern noted that his initial work was guided by Robbins’ creative teams, who sent photos of “buildings, plants, ceramics, and retro toys as inspiration for the design and iterations of the form.” The robot’s physical form was created by the team at Wētā Workshop, which has previously designed superhero suits for Thor: Love and Thunder and designing creatures and science fiction suits for Pacific Rim Rebellion.

Sunny rolls with an entourage of 13 people on set, plus four support staff in the workshop. As robotics supervisor Tyler Page explains, each person is responsible for a different element of Sunny’s physical ability; there’s “the practical Sunny animatronic doll, someone in a Sunny performer suit to put over the shoulder [shots] For fine motor control, a puppeteer wears a vest with servers on each joint, so as she moves, Sunny moves in real time. Also, a second puppeteer operates the wheel motors.” Each of Sunny’s puppeteers had to work very closely together to become a synchronized, well-oiled machine, so that the intricate controls behind the simplest movements seemed effortless.

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On the technical side, Hobern was challenged to make the animatronic response time as short as possible, so that Sunny could react to the world around her and her scene partner. Sotomura wore motion capture headgear: when she moved her head, Sunny’s head moved; when Sotomura blinked, Sunny blinked.

Sotomura’s helmet had a screen that showed Sunny’s perspective and a camera to track her facial and eye movements. “We take that data and then map it onto this digital avatar, effectively Sunny’s face, that’s manipulated by wherever Sotomura is looking and what her facial expressions are,” Hobern noted. “It just becomes a living, breathing robot that everyone believes is a real being on set. When it all comes together, the illusion is very convincing.”

This near-instantaneous ability to mirror a performer’s movement through Sunny was vital in integrating the robot on set as a fellow actor. Robbins shared, “We wanted directors to be able to give notes to the person playing Sunny on the day, as a living, breathing scene between Sunny and her scene partner. Ultimately, the show is about the connection between humans and robots.” Here, Sunny‘s dedication to puppetry and practical effects is at odds with the show’s futuristic plot, a contrast that makes the discussions about the presence of AI alongside humans all the more fascinating.

Sunny takes a new level of robot emotional capabilities to the next level in Episode 5, “Joey Sakamoto.” While lost in the woods, Sunny ignores her code by going behind Suzie’s back and saving a dying baby bird, resulting in a robot that experiences deep empathy and grief. For the entire crew, this episode was a real challenge, as the frigid temperatures of the Japanese countryside at night caused the Sunny robot to shut down. However, working through the elements resulted in some of the show’s most beautiful shots, including Sunny wandering through the woods with a beam of light shining from her chest.

The filming experience was particularly memorable for Page. “I still have such an emotional connection to Sunny,” he said. “When I looked at the monitors on set and saw what the team was doing and the reactions of the other crew members … everyone was in love with Sunny.” The high-tech Sunny became a valued cast member on set and, as on the show, the robot was at the heart of some tender moments with humans on and off screen.

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