Exploring the Aesthetic Range for Humanoid Robots

Although the uncanny exists, the inherent, unavoidable dip (or valley) may be an illusion. Extremely abstract robots can be uncanny if the aesthetic is off, as can cosmetically atypical humans. Thus, the uncanny occupies a continuum ranging from the abstract to the real, although norms of acceptability may narrow as one approaches human likeness. However, if the aesthetic is right, any level of realism or abstraction can be appealing. If so, then avoiding or creating an uncanny effect just depends on the quality of the aesthetic design, regardless of the level of realism. The author’s preliminary experiments on human reaction to near-realistic androids appear to support this hypothesis.