I am writing a story featuring a genetically modified human from the future and an alien trapped on 1980s Earth. They crash landed there, and did not intend on being there. Since neither can blend into society because of the way their bodies are shaped, the future human decides to build a human-like robot avatar to remote control and interact with humanity.
The future human acts through this robot via some sort of remote control VR where it feels like he is in its body. It probably reads the future human's brain waves and maybe even has haptic feedback. I'm thinking early on in the story the robot is rudimentary, forcing it to wear a disguise (like a trenchcoat, hat, scarf and gloves to hide its features) but later it gets more human-like until it's good enough to pass as a person.
Resources they have: 1980s Earth, somewhere in the Americas. The alien has a science pod with survival gear (EVA equipment, self-defense equipment, 1st aid, translator, infodump PDA, rations, acclimatization devices, raw organic material to edible food converter, etc.). The future human has a mech-like craft designed for withstanding and exploring a huge variety of environments, a data storage device that contains basically the entire Internet on it as well as a sophisticated AI, and programmable nanomachines. The information and AI available to them can definitely aid in the designing of the robot.
To keep it in check story-wise the nanomachines aren't miracle-workers; they cannot totally reconstitute matter or perform alchemy like Star Trek's replicators. They are more like extremely complex and capable 3D printers that can be governed by the sophisticated AI, and they are restricted to a designated tent-like area, to prevent a grey-goo cascade scenario. They at the very least need raw materials and minerals to transform into something usable. They could make raw organic material, say, edible to the alien but couldn't turn rocks into gold.
So with this in mind, what could they build this humanoid robot out of? What would be needed for a normal person to make an android? Metals, synthetic materials, composite materials? Pistons? Electronics? Wiring? What about the fake muscles, skin, eyes, nervous system, remote control system, etc.? What kind of workbench, tools, etc. would be required? If the nanomachines make it too easy, I could deal with taking that element out as well. On the flip side, if it would be impossible with the materials on-hand, maybe the nanomachines could be made a little more powerful. There aren't many "how to build an android and what materials you need" tutorials online, so if you think you may be able to help me I would appreciate it very much!
[NOTE: reposting this here from scifi.stackexchange after finding out this was a more relevant SE. Here is the original post.]
