Robots are becoming more and more realistic to the point of becoming creepy. But, we all know the more important question is, can they break it down? Judge for yourself.
The Keepon is an amazingly cute dancing robot that yellow and snowman shaped. It’s able to dance to the beat, and actually change and transform its dance in a fluid manner. In addition, it also has the capability to recognize human eye contact and react to it. This is one of my favorite videos.
The field of robotics has been rapidly changing, especially during the recent years. For many of these, we have reached the Uncanny Valley, a point in the spectrum of human realism that basically creeps us out. The closer to real a robot is, the creepier it gets (unless of course, we get to the point where we can’t tell the difference). According to Wikipedia:
The phenomenon can be explained by the notion that, if an entity is sufficiently non-humanlike, then the humanlike characteristics will tend to stand out and be noticed easily, generating empathy. On the other hand, if the entity is “almost human”, then the non-human characteristics will be the ones that stand out, leading to a feeling of “strangeness” in the human viewer.
Without further ado, here is a video list of the creepiest human-like robots that I could find:
Jules
Created by David Hanson, this robot is able to converse pretty fluidly with people. Although, I’m not sure how much of it is scripted.
Akiba
Another Actroid based robot. This one is particularly creepy in the eyes.
Transport Robot
A transport robot commissioned by the Army. It’s able to carry large amount of weights over rough terrain. This one doesn’t have a realistic face, but those legs are just so eerily human-like, especially when the guy kicks it near the end.
Repliee Q1
Created by Hiroshi Ishiguru, this Actroid based robot imitates human behavior. According to Wikipedia:
The Actroid can also imitate human-like behavior with slight shifts in position, head and eye movements and the appearance of breathing in its chest. Additionally, the robot can be “taught” to imitate human movements by facing a person who is wearing reflective dots at key points on their body. By tracking the dots with its visual system and computing limb and joint movements to match what it sees, this motion can then be “learned” by the robot and repeated.
Geminoid HI-1
Fashioned after Hiroshi Ishiguro, a senior researcher at ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories, this robot sometimes sits in for him during his lectures. It was built using body casts from Hiroshi. It even fidgets in his seat, just like a real human. I find this one to be the creepiest of the bunch.
