Creepy Robots 2.0
Following on the creepy/awesome that comes from BostonDynamics and their BigDog, I’ve compiled a few more videos of robots that fall well within the supposed uncanny valley. This is a bit of a preview of neat technology, but also a view of what robots end up being when viewed in a creepy light.
To start the list, there’s a simulation robot that engineers at Kagawa University have put together. Unfortunately the simulation isn’t perfect, and the presentation is downright disturbing.
Following the hellish utterances of a disturbed robot, we have the faces of robots. Eva is a robot head intended to make facial expressions and interact with humans on an emotional level, but her grimacing probably isn’t conveying what the makers wanted. Using a famous old man as the model for the robot appears to work a little better—the Einstein Robot from UCSD looks much more natural, but the jerkiness of his movements are enough to make me forget his science.
Unfortunately, robot mouths and robot busts can’t chase you around very effectively—which is where the skittering hyper fast line following robots come in. Propelled by what appears to be four legs, you can actually seem them somewhat drifting around corners in the latter races. And when the robots have a lighter payload, your half-closed doors and windows won’t protect you from the Half-Life 2 manhack style nimble quadrotor.
To close the post and counter the uncanny chasm created by the previous robots, I give you the cute and speedy MicroMouse Bee:
Posted by carneywilson on Jun. 02, 2010