Persistence of the uncanny valley

Abstract

In recent years, the uncanny valley theory has been heavily investigated by researchers from various fields. However, the videos and images used in these studies do not permit any human interaction with the uncanny objects. Therefore, in the field of human-robot interaction, it is still unclear what impact, if any, an uncanny- looking robot will have in the context of an interaction. In this paper, we describe an exploratory empirical study using a live interaction paradigm that involves repeated interactions with robots that differ in embodiment and their attitude toward humans. We find that both components of uncanniness investigated here (likeability and eeriness) can be affected by an interaction with a robot. The likeability of a robot is mainly affected by its attitude, and this effect is especially prominent for a machinelike robot. Merely repeating interactions is sufficient to reduce the degree of eeriness, irrespective of a robot's embodiment. As a result, we urge other researchers to investigate the uncanny valley theory in studies that involve actual human-robot interactions in order to fully understand the changing nature of this phenomenon.