This creature belongs under that category of the Uncanny Valley, the school of thought created by Dr. Masahiro Mori in a 1970 paper in the journal Energy. His thesis claims that when we see something lifelike we tend to empathize with it and then look at it with a disquieting sense that it is not, (in this instance its lack of skin.) We then accept it for what it is.
And if the above was not enough to spook you, here's another example. This is just so wrong in so many ways.
University of Ottawa roboticist Emil Petriu and team are working on a robot that they hope will be more people-friendly. They plan to replace many of the robotic components, such as facial expressions, with more humanistic ones. The Canadian team will also try to make the hands more tactile and feel that the end result will be useful in the areas of nursing, maintenance and explosive device disposal. The video is partially in French and obviously this project still has a ways to go, but they certainly have a good start.
Fans of "Nightline" were surely almost impressed with David Hanson's Phillip, a robot that comes close to looking and sounding humanish. If you missed it, here is your chance to take a look at the segment that also features Zeno, Watson and a few other familiar bots.
Shades of Andy Kaufman! Masato Takahashi of Keio University built the Ondz Clapping Robots, hands that he hoped would actually sound like humans. Not only can they can applaud their own performance, if you put enough of them in a room, you wouldn't need an audience, The real question is if there is no one in the room when the hands are clapping, is there a sound? Hit the link for more videos, one of them downright scary.
Mask-bot just may be the next generation of robotic faces. Inspired by Disney's projecting faces onto busts in the Disneyland Haunted Mansion, Gordon Cheng and his team of the ICS at Munich has a prototype that works behind a mask to produce a 3D image that can be viewed at various angles. One can reproduce content that comes via keyboard or text to speech, in both male and female, and the hope is that they can be developed for telepresence systems or video conferences. Walt would be proud.
Boston Dynamics BigDog now has a sidekick. PETMAN is a two-legged 6 ft. tall bot that can walk, perform squats and do pushups should the need arise. Probably available next year, it has been going through tests of chemical warfare agents, maneuvers in a suit, generates heat and sweats like a human. We are just grateful that they haven't taken the next step and added an evil Terminator head to its robotic body.
Panasonic's Evolta Mini-Bot finally completed his 230k Ironman Triathalon October 30 that it began in September. It took 3 different versions of the little guy to complete the task powered by 3 rechargeable batteries. He needed 166 hours to swim 3.8km, bicycle 180.2km and run 42.2km to the finish line.
It may look like a runaway from a Puffs Tissue commercial, but it is in fact a very coordinated, humanistic Mekabot unveiled at last month's IROS 2011 event in San Francisco. There are hi-res FireWire Cameras for eyes, DSP controllers that are integrated and amazingly lifelike torso and head movements. Founders Aaron Edsinger and Jeff Weber formed Meka after developing Domo at MIT.
If you need someone to nag you to get back into shape, Autom is now available for the masses. A $195.00 down payment gets you the personal coach for 10% off the annual price and 6 free months of subscription service. That may seem pricey but think of it as a replacement for that third daily Big Mac. A companion book with special diet tips is also available to get you started.
Check out where Evolta's Spokesbot has come from and where he is going in the World Challenge IV 2011. October 23, the little green guy will take place in a week long Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii. The humans only get a day but the trio of competitiors will swim for 2.4 miles, ride a bike 112 miles, then run 26.2 miles. During that time, they will only stop for feeding recharging their nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable batteries.
The IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems takes place in San Francisco from September 25th - 30th. Tickets are still being sold for the 50th anniversary event that will feature robots from all over the planet and includes workshops, tours, and forums. Look for exhibits from Willow Garage, DARPA, iCub and many other robotics companies. Registration for the IROS includes almost everything, from the conference attendance to receptions to the special events.
Chyi-Yeu Lin and team from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in Taipei created an eerie head that photographs a musical score with her camera/eyes, interprets the pitch, rhythm and lyrics from an algorithm, then turns it into her version of music via synthesizer. Designed to someday be a restaurant receptionist, they need to perfect a creepy body to go with that head.
Watch out sports fans, there's some new competition in town. DARwin-OP (Dynamic Anthropomorphic Robot with Intelligence--Open Platform) stands a mere 18" and weighs only 2.9kg, but is truly endearing. He performs a kick the can routine with some Takate beer that shows he may have a future in soccer, even at a cost of $12,000.
Mex-One is entering its final phase of its metamorphosis. It is a humanoid that not only can walk and memorize information, it is considered a social robot and can learn by experience. Head of its team Eduardo Bayro, claiims that they will have "sub-products with practical ends in such fields as medicine and culture." This means that it has open architecture for developing new algorithms, ideas and applications such as intelligent limbs for the disabled. The total cost is about $100,000 with that price halved by ordering a replica that can be used as a hospital assistant or museum guide.
Uncanny Valley Rules
It may look like a runaway from a Puffs Tissue commercial, but it is in fact a very coordinated, humanistic Mekabot unveiled at last month's IROS 2011 event in San Francisco. There are hi-res FireWire Cameras for eyes, DSP controllers that are integrated and amazingly lifelike torso and head movements. Founders Aaron Edsinger and Jeff Weber formed Meka after developing 
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