Creepy Babies From The Uncanny Valley
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on July 5, 2009 by admin in Featured, Popular Media
Sunday, July 5th, 2009When cute goes creepy: Why do advertisers insist on using creepy images of babies moving like adults?
It’s probably a good idea to keep them caged |
There are more things wrong with the video at left than I could possibly list, but I never let that stop me. First of all, it’s an ad for a product, and I’m displaying it for free. Secondly, it’s an ad for a really stupid product, bottled water. But what really riles up my sense of wrong has more to do with a general sense of creepiness. Ever since the original dancing baby of 1996 , we’ve found ourselves occasionally assaulted by the uncanny valley effect that’s induced by making a baby do things babies don’t actually do. Whether it’s an ad for Evian (as in the clip at left) or a Lebanese diaper ad, the image of a baby moving like an adult arouses a mild cognitive dissonance that either makes one laugh or cringe, depending on one’s personal psychological make-up. Somehow it’s less disturbing when a baby thinks like an adult, as in the 1989 film Look Who’s Talking
President Robama - Our New Robot Overlord
[ Add A Comment ]Posted on July 4, 2009 by admin in Featured, Politics
Saturday, July 4th, 2009Some reports are claiming that Barack Obama is a negro robot from the future.
See Robama at approximately 1:05 |
I’ve suspected for some time that all the world’s elected leaders are immediately replaced with robots upon taking office as part of a vast alien overlord conspiracy. Well, now I have evidence. If Disney’s Magic Kingdom can create creepy robot presidents from the Uncanny Valley like this (see Robama at 1:05) and this (see Robama at 1:20) for entertainment purposes, imagine what the dark ops people that created stealth bombers have up their sleeves. You’ll find this absurd (because that’s how an effective conspiracy works) but there is a war raging around the world, and the media is so tightly controlled that you won’t find out until it’s too late. That new Terminator movie? It’s just part of a massive PSYOP to prepare your mind for the inescapable fact that we will soon serve our robot masters. This report from a soldier in the field explains how Barack Obama’s robot army has taken over the world with their “million megawatt smiles and crushing fistbumps“. C’mon. A charming, impeccably articulate and intelligent president who exhibits almost zen-like serenity under pressure, is ridiculously handsome and is black? This had to be a dream come true. Or a robot invasion nightmare. You decide.
More Uncanny Valley: Bobblehead Einstein Robot
[ Add A Comment ]Posted on October 16, 2008 by admin in Featured, Technology
Thursday, October 16th, 2008Relatively peculiar
One of the newest residents of the Uncanny Valley is the almost-macabre Einstein-headed robot in the video, left. There’s a strange set of ironies going on here: the uncanny realism of the face (it’s made of “Frubber”) ; the eerie motion of the robot body; the weird bobbling of the head…all combined with the idea that one of the greatest minds of the 20th century is reduced to a mumbling marionette pitching a product. The Albert HUBO, as it is called, is a product of the Korea-based Humanoid Robot Research Center, a research group that seems to be playing a little bit of catch-up with Honda’s Asimo. The welcome video on the HuboLab site is unintentionally hilarious; an Einsten-headed robot speaks with a carefully suppressed, but obvious Korean accent.
Deeper Into The Uncanny Valley
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on August 20, 2008 by admin in Featured, Technology
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Uncanny Valley Girls On The Web
In the video at left, a woman named Emily tells us about the cutting edge computer imaging company Image Metrics. The twist? She’s not real; she’s a product of the company’s unique facial animation tools. We’ve written about the Uncanny Valley before, but more in the context of creepy robots. For another example of creep facial animation, see this clip, created using Studio Pendulum’s Alter Ego system, in which three faces simultaneously execute the same facial expressions. Only two years ago, this animated woman was about the highest quality work around, and required extensive manual editing in Photoshop. It’s odd how not uncanny these images start to look as the images become more completely realistic.
Beyond the Uncanny Valley of the Robo-Dolls
[ Add A Comment ]Posted on June 26, 2008 by admin in Featured, Lifestyle & Culture, Technology
Thursday, June 26th, 2008Welcome to the Uncanny Valley, where things are getting creepier every day.
Welcome to your creepy robot future. The ACM-R5 Amphibious Robot Snake pictured here is not a CG effect created for the next Alien