30 Oct 2024

How to make robots less creepy

From Afternoons, 1:25 pm on 30 October 2024

Dr Jessica Turner and her team from the University of Waikato is uncovering how robots are edging into spooky territory, with a pair of robot student ambassadors helping them understand how robots freak people out as they enter the 'uncanny valley.'

The 'uncanny valley' describes a phenomenon where humans have a negative emotional response to a non-human figure, such as a robot, that has a human likeness.  

EveR uses a camera to tilt its gaze towards passersby like a possessed bust sculpture.

EveR uses a camera to tilt its gaze towards passersby like a possessed bust sculpture. Photo: Tom Phillips

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