My robotic doppelgänger - a critical look at the Uncanny Valley

Abstract

The Uncanny Valley hypothesis has been widely used in the areas of computer graphics and human-robot interaction to motivate research and to explain the negative impressions that participants report after exposure to highly realistic characters or robots. Despite its frequent use, empirical proof for the hypothesis remains scarce. This study empirically tested two predictions of the hypothesis: a) highly realistic robots are liked less than real humans and b) the highly realistic robot's movement decreases its likeability. The results do not support these hypotheses and hence expose a considerable weakness in the Uncanny Valley hypothesis. Anthropomorphism and likeability may be multi-dimensional constructs that cannot be projected into a two-dimensional space. We speculate that the hypothesis' popularity may stem from the explanatory escape route it offers to the developers of characters and robots. In any case, the Uncanny Valley hypothesis should no longer be used to hold back the development of highly realistic androids.