"Uncanny valley” explained?

From Digital Trends

Were you creeped out by the characters in Polar Express? Do you find clowns, human puppets, and overly-realistic robots to be unsettling? How about the too-close-to-human robotic Hiroshi Ishiguro (see image on left)? The term "Uncanny Valley" has been used to describe the unease people feel as inanimate objects become closer and closer to human in appearance. On the one side of the valley, Kermit the Frog and R2D2 are fine. At the opposite side we have the sexy Cylons in the remade Battlestar Galactica. No problem with any of them. But somewhere in the middle we hit the almost-but-not-quite-human animations and robots that seem to make us squirm. Now scientists may have uncovered the mechanism behind this dissonance.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons

"Researchers from the university of California, San Diego, have discovered that a mismatch between movement and humanoid traits could be causing the uncanny valley effect, or the uneasiness we feel when we look at humanoid robots or CGI creations."

"Unfortunately, we still don’t entirely know why our brain hates this inconsistency, but if movies and video games are any indication, our brains may be able to get used to the oddness of our human-like creations in time. Games like L.A. Noire have found success by somewhat reducing the uncanny valley effect by drastically improving the facial and body animation of its characters. Faster animation in motion-capture CGI films like the upcoming Spielberg film The Adventures of Tintin are also working around this odd phenomenon. Unfortunately, we don’t quite know if our brains will ever truly accept fake humanoids until they are completely indistinguishable from ourselves."

Integrating humans with machines

As prosthetics become more and more sophisticated, one of the major challenges is the mind-machine interface. In the past we've relied on rather crude signaling methods, but continuing advances bring us closer to true replacements. And once we can replace natural function, it's a short hop to enhancing natural function. Perhaps a boutique at the mall where you can pick out new arms and have them cut off your old ones?

Not all robots are electromechanical...

Bristol UWE - NewsBuilding biological robots: "Scientists at the University of the West of England are to design the first ever biological robot using mould."

"Researchers have received a Leverhulme Trust grant worth £228,000 to develop the amorphous non-silicon biological robot, plasmobot, using plasmodium, the vegetative stage of the slime mould Physarum polycephalum, a commonly occurring mould which lives in forests, gardens and most damp places in the UK. The Leverhulme Trust funded research project aims to design the first every fully biological (no silicon components) amorphous massively-parallel robot."

Robofish Takes To Water

Discovery News Robofish Takes To Water: "A school of small, robotic fish has been developed by MIT scientists. Made with a only handful of parts and a blend of polymers, the fish wiggle their way through water like trout and tuna.

"These new robofish could be equipped with sensors to monitor oil spills or other environmental contaminants.

"'The interesting aspect of this research is that we are the first group to tailor different polymers in different parts of the body with different dampening and stiffness properties,' said Kamal Youcef-Toumi, a scientist at MIT who, along with Pablo Vildivia Y Alvarado, is developing the robofish."

Robot with bones moves like you do

24 August 2009 - New Scientist Robot with bones moves like you do: "YOU may have more in common with this robot than any other - it was designed using your anatomy as a blueprint.

Conventional humanoid robots may look human, but the workings under their synthetic skins are radically different from our anatomy. A team with members across five European countries says this makes it difficult to build robots able to move like we do.

Their project, the Eccerobot, has been designed to duplicate the way human bones, muscles and tendons work and are linked together. The plastic bones copy biological shapes and are moved by kite-line that is tough like tendons, while elastic cords mimic the bounce of muscle."

Advances in Humanoid Robots

Inventor Demonstrates Humanoid Robot's Latest AI Abilities: "In August 2007, Le Trung invented Aiko, a Yumecom, or 'Dream Computer Robot.' Although it took only a month and a half to build Aiko's exterior, the artificial intelligence software has been a work in progress ever since. Recently, Le Trung has demonstrated his most recent improvements to the software, called BRAINS (Bio Robot Artificial Intelligence Neural System).

In the video below, Le Trung demonstrates Aiko's internal operating system, which gives the robot many abilities, including the ability to speak two languages (English and Japanese), solve high school math problems, communicate the weather forecast, understand more than 13,000 sentences, sing songs, identify objects, focus on objects or people of importance, read newspapers and other materials, and mimic human physical touch."

Honda Unveils Robot That Helps You Walk

FOXNews.com One of the first commercial applications of what I expect will be a growing field of assistive prosthetics: "Imagine a bicycle seat connected by mechanical frames to a pair of shoes for an idea of how the new wearable assisted-walking gadget from Honda works.

The experimental device, unveiled Friday, is designed to support bodyweight, reduce stress on the knees and help people get up steps and stay in crouching positions."

Robotic ants building homes on Mars?

ICT Results -- cordis.europa.eu Robotic ants building homes on Mars?: "Recent discoveries of water and Earth-like soil on Mars have set imaginations running wild that human beings may one day colonise the Red Planet. However, the first inhabitants might not be human in form at all, but rather swarms of tiny robots.

“Small robots that are able to work together could explore the planet. We now know there is water and dust so all they would need is some sort of glue to start building structures, such as homes for human scientists,” says Marc Szymanski, a robotics researcher at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany.

Szymanski is part of a team of European researchers developing tiny autonomous robots that can co-operate to perform different tasks, much like termites, ants or bees forage collaboratively for food, build nests and work together for the greater good of the colony."

Human exoskeleton suit helps paralyzed people walk

"HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - paralyzed for the past 20 years, former Israeli paratrooper Radi Kaiof now walks down the street with a dim mechanical hum.

"That is the sound of an electronic exoskeleton moving the 41-year-old's legs and propelling him forward -- with a proud expression on his face -- as passersby stare in surprise.

"The device, called ReWalk, is the brainchild of engineer Amit Goffer, founder of Argo Medical Technologies, a small Israeli high-tech company.

"Something of a mix between the exoskeleton of a crustacean and the suit worn by comic hero Iron Man, ReWalk helps paraplegics -- people paralyzed below the waist -- to stand, walk and climb stairs."

NASA Tests Robot Surgeon for Missions to Moon, Mars

Scientific American NASA Tests Robot Surgeon for Missions to Moon, Mars: "As NASA sets its sites on manned missions back to the moon and as far away as Mars, the space agency is participating a series of tests this week to determine if robotic technology is the key to providing adequate medical care for its astronauts during such extended spaceflights."

Kevin Warwick

Home Page: "Kevin has carried out a series of pioneering experiments involving the neuro-surgical implantation of a device into the median nerves of his left arm in order to link his nervous system directly to a computer in order to assess the latest technology for use with the disabled. He has been successful with the first extra-sensory (ultrasonic) input for a human and with the first purely electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans."

Kevin's research obviously has great potential for restoring sensation and mobility in patients with damage to the nervous system; equally obvious are the ethical and social issues that arise. "Kevin is currently working closely with Dr Daniela Cerqui, a social and cultural anthropologist to address the main social, ethical, philosophical and anthropological issues related to his research into robotics and cyborgs."