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Robotics

Ode to the Uncanny Valley

Watch this slideshow of creepy robots and tell us what you think about the concept of the "uncanny valley"

IEEE Spectrum
31 Mar 2010
The concept of the "uncanny valley'' that humanlike robots become creepy when lifelike appearance is approached but not attained has been the subject of several studies and has gained notoriety in popular culture, but it remains a controversial notion in some robotics circles. Is it a valid scientific conjecture or just pseudoscience? Watch our slideshow and tell us what you think.

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Photo: Issei Kato/Reuters
Saya, the robot teacher, was created by Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science.
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Photo: Issei Kato/Reuters
Saya, the robot teacher, was created by Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science.
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Photo: Issei Kato/Reuters
Saya, the robot teacher, was created by Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science.
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Photo: Issei Kato/Reuters
Saya, the robot teacher, was created by Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science.
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Photo: Itsuo Inouye/AP Photo
Saya, the robot teac her, was created by Hiroshi Kobayashi at the Tokyo University of Science.
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Diego-san was created by the Machine Perception Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, along with Japan’s Kokoro Co.
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Giantbum was created by British artist Nathaniel Mellors.
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Photo: Yuriko Nakao/Reuters
Kansei was created by Meiji University's Robot and Science Laboratory.
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SimMan 3G was created by Laerdal Medical, in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
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Photo: David Guttenfelder/AP Photo
CB2 was created at Osaka University's Asada Laboratory.
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Photo: Koki Ueda/AP Photo
CB2 was created at Osaka University's Asada Laboratory.
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Photo: Timothy Archibald
Einstein was created by Hanson Robotics, in Dallas.
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Photo: David Guttenfelder/AP Photo
Kansei was created by Meiji University's Robot and Science Laboratory.
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Baby Lana is Reborn Doll art created by Deborah King, in Scotland.
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Photo: David Guttenfelder/AP Photo
Real Care Babies were created by Wisconsin-based Realityworks.
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Photo: Nathan Denette/AP Photo
Aiko was created by Canadian robotics enthusiast Le Trung.
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Miyata Jiro was created by Momoyo Torimitsu, a New York-based artist.
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Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Pikarin was created by Hiroshi Kobayashi and Hikari Asano at the Tokyo University of Science.
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Eva was created by Hanson Robotics.
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Tom Hanks was motion-captured for the movie The Polar Express.
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Photo: Makoto Ishida
The Geminoid was created by Hiroshi Ishiguro and ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories.
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Photo: University of Indiana
Zou Ren-Ti created his android twin at Xian Chaoren Sculpture Research Institute, in China.
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Keiko was created by Gifu University's Graduate School of Medicine and Mizuno Technical Institute, in Japan.
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Emily was created by Image Metrics, in Santa Monica, Calif.
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Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Simroid was created by Kokoro Co.
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Virtual Adrienne Curry was created by Nvidia.
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Virtual Adrienne Curry was created by Nvidia.
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Kobian was created by Waseda University, in Tokyo.
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Kobian was created by Waseda University, in Tokyo.
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Daryl Sabara was motion-captured for the movie The Polar Express.
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Angelina Jolie was motion-captured for the movie Beowulf.
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WF-4RIII was created by Atsuo Takanishi at Waseda University.
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Diego-san was created by the Machine Perception Laboratory at the University of California, San Diego, along with Japan's Kokoro Co.
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NTUST was created by the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.
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Photo: Bernd Thissen/DPA/Landov
Mark II was created by Tokyo's University of Science.
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ATOM-7xp was created by FutureBots, in Jupiter,Fla.
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Photo: Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo
Eva with Hanson Robotics founder David Hanson.
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iCub was created by the RobotCub project, a European consortium
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RIBA was created by RIKEN, in Japan.
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Photo: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images
Ibn Sina was created by United Arab Emirates University's Interactive Robots and Media Lab.
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Actress Kristen Bell was digitized for the game Assassin's Creed.
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Robotinho was created by the University of Bonn's Autonomous Intelligent Systems.
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Photo: Fermarillo Photos
The Robota doll was created by the Écoles Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne’s Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory.
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Photo: Fermarillo Photos
The Robota doll was created by the Écoles Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne’s Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory.
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Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Robot Cameron Phillipes was created for the show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
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Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Roxxxy was created by TrueCompanion.
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Photo: Herwig Prammer/Reuters
Archie was created by the Vienna University of Technology and the University of Manitoba.
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Photo: Toru Hanai/Reuters
HRP-4C was created by Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
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Asian-2 PhotogenicMask was created by Natori Satio, in Japan.
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Personal Cremation Urns are available from Cremation Solutions, in Arlington, Vt.
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Photo: Claro Cortes IV/Reuters
Rong Cheng was created by the Institute of Automation at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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Photo: Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP Photo
George the robot was created at the U.S. Naval Research Lab.
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Photo: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
This wax figure of Denzel Washington was created by Madame Tussauds.
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The game Final Fantasy XIII was created by Square Enix.
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ASIMO was created by Honda.
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Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters
The Noelle Birthing Simulator was created by Gaumard Scientific, in Miami,Fla.
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Yotaro was created by Tsukuba University, in Japan.
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Creepy Girl was created by MotionPortrait, in Tokyo.
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Creepy Girl was created by MotionPortrait, in Tokyo.
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Creepy Girl was created by MotionPortrait, in Tokyo.
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Nexi was created by MIT's Personal Robots Group.
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Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images
Manoi ATO1 was created by Kyosho, in Tokyo.
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The game Heavy Rain was created by Quantic Dream.
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Repliee Q2 was created by Hiroshi Ishiguro at Osaka University's Intelligent Robotics Laboratory. <
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