I found this page interesting:
http://arclight.net/~pdb/glimpses/valley.html
It discusses a thesis by roboticist Doctor Masahiro Mori. To summarize: If you build a robot to look and move exactly like a human but don't get it just right, it freaks people out.
I don't think this would apply at all to any of the known A7 robots. Maybe earlier designs didn't get it quite right?
Then of course there is the Misago.. she certainly gives people a frightening first impression.
- Brad
Monday, February 9, 2004
Howdy,
This has been batted around endlessly by the Slashdot crowd in real life, and articles like this are pretty easy to find:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.06/face.html?pg=4
But in YKK, we have to assume that the Uncanny Valley has finally been crossed with the A7 series. Who knows? Perhaps, as you said, the Uncanny Valley is what did in the earlier robots, and not war or anything to that effect :)
And I am probably of the minority opinion, but I personally don't think Misago is a robot.
Best,
Dave
- dDave
Monday, February 9, 2004
Yes, I did pick the link up from slashdot :)
It's tempting to assume Misago is a robot, because that's the simplest explanation for her existance in the story.
- Brad
Monday, February 9, 2004
I don't see any reason to doubt Ayase when he says the Misago predates robots. Besides, there are the other strange phenomena, like the Watergod and the mushroom buildings. It's clear that the Watergod's worshippers aren't ignorant villagers--someone hooked equipment up to her at some point to learn that she has brainwaves--but they seem to have no explanation for her.
There are things in Alpha's world that are not of humanity.
- dn
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Of course, the robots -- and humans -- in the YKK manga are way over to the left of the uncanny valley, being heavily stylized!
- Smarasderagd
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
When Kokone first met Alpha, Alpha did not recognize her as a robot. Kokone was surprised by this. She thought her robot identity was immediately obvious due to her behavior and apperance (hair color in particular). It would seem from Kokone's statements that the robots in YKK are on the edge of the uncanny valley. To compensate for this, the robots have subtle ways to inform the humans of their identity. This prevents the uncomfortable feeling of being somewhat human but not human enough. The robot's apperance and manner informs the human immediately that the person they are interacting with is artificial. By managing expectations in this manner, the uncanny valley is avoided.
- Loran Gayton
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
The theory of he uncanny valley is based on today's people & society. Obviously a lot happened between today and Alpha's world, and it is almost sure that at one point human society had to seriously discuss the philosophic impact on everybody's live by human looking robots.
An analogy would be that little more than, let's say, a hundred years ago women serving in any kind of armed force would have been completely unthinkable by western standards, while today it is considered a good example of equality.
Mindsets change, and the uncanny valley may succumb to history.
- Mart
Friday, February 20, 2004
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