Uncanny Valley, Thy Name Is Miku

Have you ever heard of the uncanny valley theory? It states the following:

As a robot is made more humanlike in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong repulsion. However, as the appearance and motion continue to become more distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels. —Wikipedia

Basically, the idea is that we tend to find things that too closely resemble humans, but are clearly not, repulsive. So, for example, a stuffed animal or anime moe girl, due to their stylization, would be considered cute and likeable. A zombie or dollfie, however, would not.

A group of Japanese scientists with the YAMAHA corporation recently debuted their HRP-4C Miimu robot, and decided to dress her up like Hatsune Miku and have her ‘dance’. The result, visible in the video below, falls squarely in the lowest part of the uncanny valley.

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SOS Brigade Seitenkan Video Debut

Our British Haruhi friends, the SOS Brigade Seitenkan, have given us a taste of what they have planned in the near future. This first video is their rendition of Bouken Desho Desho, done in a style that brings to mind “The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Episode 00”. Also included is a nicely choreographed Hare Hare Yukai.

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