What Is Uncanny Valley?
The uncanny valley is a disconcerting abyss where excessive realism meets artificiality in the case of androids, avatars, and animations. Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori initially identified and documented the phenomenon in a 1970s article – which emphasizes our peculiar aversion to things that resemble humans but don’t quite feel right. Robots are the main target of this aversion, but it can also apply to computer animations and some medical situations.
Although they are incredibly lifelike and realistic, closer inspection reveals that they are not quite human. People commonly experience a sense of unease, strangeness, revulsion, or creepiness when they see a robotic or animated representation that lies in this “valley.”
You’ve probably felt it before, possibly while playing a video game or viewing an animated CGI movie. The animated person may appear to be almost real, but there is a small gap between appearances of “almost human” and “completely human,” which causes you to feel uneasy or even repulsed.
The phenomenon has implications for artificial intelligence and robotics. Despite their best efforts, gadgets and online avatars that are designed to simulate human touch risk alienating those who use them. So, when it comes to androids and humans, things get a little more complicated.
12 Creep Uncanny Valley Examples
Various situations, for instance those involving video game characters and incredibly realistic robots, have led to the observation of the uncanny valley. Movies have featured some of the most well-known instances of the creepy uncanny valley. Particularly in the case of humanoid robots, which frequently behave like lifeless puppets and serve as a reminder of our own mortality, they stir up an underlying fear of death.
However, we’re still unsure. Take a peek at these 12 examples of the creepy uncanny valley to see it in action for yourself. Do creepy robots give you the creeps?
Sophia
Sophia humanoid robot, as far as robotic humans are concerned, straddles the line between the strange and barely bearable. Sophia, created by Hanson Robotics, has received a lot of press attention over the years, particularly in respect to interactions between humans and robots. She gained notoriety in 2017 when Saudi Arabia gave citizenship to the country’s first creepy robot. She communicates with a synthesised voice and can show emotion with her face.
CB2 robot
CB2 is one humanoid of uncanny valley examples that mimics the physical and mental capabilities of a 2-year-old child. Its human parents are using the robot to study robot learning and cognition.
uncanny valley effects
Actroid-F
In 2010, Japanese Kokoro engineers unveiled their Actroid-F telepresence robot. It was designed to take the place of displays and cellphones during those long-distance calls, operating as a physical robotic presence that would imitate the movements and facial expressions of the person you’re speaking to. Webcam control was used to steer the robot.
The Actroid could simulate human behaviour by adjusting its position slightly, moving its head and eyes, and appearing to breathe. The robot can also be “trained” to mimic human movements by confronting a subject who is covered with reflective dots at key positions on their body.
Tin Toy
Billy, a young child, has an appearance in the Disney/Pixar short Tin Toy from 1988.
Babies don’t typically resemble monsters. When Pixar conducted screen tests for their animated short Tin Toy, they were shocked to see that viewers didn’t respond well to Billy, the movie’s human baby.
Shrek
Children’s reactions to Princess Fiona during early test screenings of the movie Shrek caused surprising sentiments of anxiety. Children were startled and even terrified by her because she was simply too lifelike, and many of them started crying whenever she came on screen.
Based on the responses and feedback, the filmmakers changed her looks to make her look more cartoonish in order to avoid the uncanny valley effect based on the comments and criticism.
Jules A.I.
The creepy robot is able to exhibit the peculiar corner-of-the-mouth smile at least somewhat convincingly. Under his Frubber skin, his face is supported by a number of servo motors that enable a wide range of emotional expressions and reactions. It created to have a “statistically perfect androgynous face,” according to Hanson.
Tara the Android
John Bergeron, who created Tara, is the inventor of the android. Along with other movies and songs using the same android, the video originally appeared on the Internet in 2004.
Saya
The Saya receptionist robot, on display at a robotics conference in Tokyo, can say 300 words or 700 phrases and can distort her face into a variety of expressions, including pleased, sad, angry, and astonished.
Diego-san
This robot baby was created by engineers and roboticists at the Machine Perception Lab at the University of California, San Diego to assist parents in communicating with their infants more effectively. Diego-san is a large infant, standing 1.2 metres (4 feet) tall and weighing 30 kilograms (66 pounds), making him larger than the typical one-year-old youngster. In addition, this baby robot’s facial expression is complex and intuitive.
Final Fantasy
The most realistic CGI animation ever developed at the time was on display in the 2001 film Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The movie failed despite efforts to make the animated characters seem incredibly lifelike. The creepy uncanny valley is frequently blamed for the movie’s box office failure. Simply, people were put off by the animation and didn’t want to watch the movie.
Telenoid R1 Bot
According to what I’ve read, the Telenoid R1 bot is meant to be a “minimalist human.” I’m not sure what that implies, but I think it would be a form of minimalism to take a human being and remove its arms, legs, and body hair before mounting it on a tripod.
Cats that have been humanized
There are also robots that can take on human form without experiencing the uncanny valley. The musical Cats and the animated picture The Lion King’s live-action remakes in 2019 catapulted the uncanny valley to the forefront of popular culture. The photorealistic computer simulations of singing cats and talking lions that replicate human gestures were simply unsettling to some fans.
FAQs
What Causes the Creepy Uncanny Valley Effect?
People are skilled at recognizing even the smallest flaws in a robotic or animated humanoid, even in very realistic renderings. A character can go from being realistic to being eerie with just a few tiny deviations.
Additionally, studies have shown that when elements that don’t typically occur together are combined, people tend to become agitated. This uncanny Valley effect is not limited to creepy robots, it also appears in computer-animated depictions of people and animals.
The ambiguity is frequently to blame for the feeling of being “creeped out.” When we encounter creatures that are nearly human but not quite, there is an uncomfortable tension. Sometimes these uncanny valley effects are used to increase the creepiness of horror in a movie. For instance, to frighten viewers, horror movies frequently give human traits to inanimate objects like dolls and clowns.
Is it preventable?
Furthermore, not everyone believes that the valley actually does exist. It came to the conclusion that the unsettling feeling people encounter is more often the result of poor design and aesthetics, which can happen at any level of realism. While people certainly experience a sense of the uncanny in some cases, the research proposed that the valley could be overcome with good design.
Science or Pseudoscience in the Uncanny Valley?
The creepy uncanny valley continues to captivate us, yet its applicability as a scientific theory is hotly contested. Although the uncanny valley was never intended to be a scientific theory, it has frequently been critiqued as such.
Conclusion
Well, as far as a definition of uncanny valley, that’s all I have. I suppose I should add that it’s completely possible that none of the examples above will creep you out at all. And even if you do, it could not be due to something like the creepy uncanny valley but simply because they are disturbing. I mean, just look at Casper the Friendly Ghost up there. It’s terrifying.
