Cute not eerie

Researchers at Indiana University have challenged the long-held assumption that androids, dolls and virtual characters become MORE eerie the closer they resemble humans – an assumption known as the ‘uncanny valley premise.’

40 years ago, the pioneering Japanese robotocist Masahiro Mori defined the uncanny valley as that place where zombies, corpses and dancing mannequins reside.  Achieving a level of realism without falling in to the uncanny valley is the goal of computer animators, roboticists and, of course, makers of realistic love dolls.

The good news is that researcher Karl MacDorman has found that the rule does not always apply… click to read more on virtual eeriness challenged.