A New Interpretation of Mori's Uncanny Valley for Future Humanoid Robots

B. Tondu and N. Bardou (France)

Keywords

Uncanny valley, Humanoid robots, Social robots.

Abstract

Mori’s graph and the uncanny valley it includes invites us to think to future integration of humanoid robots in their social envinronment. We propose a re-interpretation of Mori’s graph based on a topological analysis which leads to re-specify each side of the uncanny valley and to highlight the key role played by the zombi figure at the bottom of the uncanny valley. According to our approach, Mori’s graph could be divided into a left-hand machine field whose beings are deprived of soul and a right-hand human beings field. The uncanny effect attached to a highly biomimetic robot would find its origin in a cognitive dissonance felt face a machine too close to the bound between these two fields – with and without soul. Heider’s balance theory is considered to specify the consequences of this interpretation in the relations between future humanoid robots and human beings.

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