Measuring the Uncanny Valley Effect

Using a hypothetical graph, Masahiro Mori proposed in 1970 the relation between the human likeness of robots and other anthropomorphic characters and an observer’s affective or emotional appraisal of them. The relation is positive apart from a U-shaped region known as the uncanny valley. To measure the relation, we previously developed and validated indices for the perceptual-cognitive dimension humanness and three affective dimensions: interpersonal warmth, attractiveness, and eeriness. Nevertheless, the design of these indices was not informed by how the untrained observer perceives anthropomorphic characters categorically. As a result, scatter plots of humanness vs. eeriness show the stimuli cluster tightly into categories widely separated from each other. The present study applies a card sorting task, laddering interview, and adjective evaluation ( N=30 ) to revise the humanness, attractiveness, and eeriness indices and validate them via a representative survey ( N=1311 ). The revised eeriness index maintains its orthogonality to humanness ( r=.04 , p=.285 ), but the stimuli show much greater spread, reflecting the breadth of their range in human likeness and eeriness. The revised indices enable empirical relations among characters to be plotted similarly to Mori’s graph of the uncanny valley. Accurate measurement with these indices can be used to enhance the design of androids and 3D computer animated characters

Optimal filter design approaches to statistical process control for autocorrelated processes

Statistical Process Control (SPC), and in particular control charting, is widely used to achieve and maintain control of various processes in manufacturing. A control chart is a graphical display that plots quality characteristics versus the sample number or the time line. Interest in effective implementation of control charts for autocorrelated processes has increased in recent years. However, because of the complexities involved, few systematic design approaches have thus far been developed. Many control charting methods can be viewed as the charting of the output of a linear filter applied to the process data. In this dissertation, we generalize the concept of linear filters for control charts and propose new control charting schemes, the general linear filter (GLF) and the 2nd-order linear filter, based on the generalization. In addition, their optimal design methodologies are developed, where the filter parameters are optimally selected to minimize the out-of-control Average Run Length (ARL) while constraining the in-control ARL to some desired value. The optimal linear filters are compared with other methods in terms of ARL performance, and a number of their interesting characteristics are discussed for various types of mean shifts (step, spike, sinusoidal) and various ARMA process models (i.i.d., AR(1), ARMA(1,1)). Also, in this work, a new discretization approach for substantially reducing the computational time and memory use for the Markov chain method of calculating the ARL is proposed. Finally, a gradient-based optimization strategy for searching optimal linear filters is illustrated

Human emotions toward stimuli in the uncanny valley: laddering and index construction

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Human-looking computer interfaces, including humanoid robots and animated humans, may elicit in their users eerie feelings. This effect, often called the uncanny valley, emphasizes our heightened ability to distinguish between the human and merely humanlike using both perceptual and cognitive approaches. Although reactions to uncanny characters are captured more accurately with emotional descriptors (e.g., eerie and creepy) than with cognitive descriptors (e.g., strange), and although previous studies suggest the psychological processes underlying the uncanny valley are more perceptual and emotional than cognitive, the deep roots of the concept of humanness imply the application of category boundaries and cognitive dissonance in distinguishing among robots, androids, and humans. First, laddering interviews (N = 30) revealed firm boundaries among participants’ concepts of animated, robotic, and human. Participants associated human traits like soul, imperfect, or intended exclusively with humans, and they simultaneously devalued the autonomous accomplishments of robots (e.g., simple task, limited ability, or controlled). Jerky movement and humanlike appearance were associated with robots, even though the presented robotic stimuli were humanlike. The facial expressions perceived in robots as improper were perceived in animated characters as mismatched. Second, association model testing indicated that the independent evaluation based on the developed indices is a viable quantitative technique for the laddering interview. Third, from the interviews several candidate items for the eeriness index were validated in a large representative survey (N = 1,311). The improved eeriness index is nearly orthogonal to perceived humanness (r = .04). The improved indices facilitate plotting relations among rated characters of varying human likeness, enhancing perspectives on humanlike robot design and animation creation

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TIBIA ANGLES TO LOADING OF KNEE DURING SPLIT SQUAT

The aim of this study was to investigate the difference of knee joint force and moment during split squats of different front tibia angles. Twelve healthy male college students performed six repetitions of four different split squat types with a standard additional load of 25% BW added using a barbell. Using 10 camera 3D motion capture system and a force plate to collect data. The peak force and moment of knee flexion (sagittal plane) were calculated by using self-designed MATLAB programs. One-way ANOVA test was undertaken using SPSS 20.0 statistical software. The analysis results of the study indicated that all kinetic parameters of the four types split squats were achieved high significant differences (p less than .000). A better understanding of different loading in specific joints and correct exercise execution during training will help protecting practitioners from sport injury

Effects of IS Characteristics on the E-Business Success Factors for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The current research presents a theoretically sound model on information systems (IS) characteristics’ effects on end-users’ perception of computer self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Based on the IS success model and the social cognitive theory, the relationship among factors with regard to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Taiwan is examined. Using mail survey, 284 usable responses are obtained, and the total response rate is recorded at 51.64%. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to assess the relationships among related constructs. In modeling the results of data analysis, it is shown that (1) there are no direct links between both information quality and service quality with computer self-efficacy, but the effect of system quality is observed; (2) the relationship between both system quality and service quality with outcome expectations is significant, but that with information quality is not; and (3) outcome expectations mediates the impacts of computer self-efficacy on end-users’ satisfaction. Finally, the implications of the results are provided, and directions for future research are discussed

The human likeness of computer-generated characters predicts altercentric intrusion during a counting task (Alternative title: An uncanny valley of visual perspective taking: A study of the effects of character human likeness and eeriness on altercentric intrusion during a counting task)

poster abstractAbstract: Perceivers lose empathy for synthetic human characters when the characters' nonhuman features elicit an eerie feeling. This phenomenon, termed the uncanny valley, may specifically diminish the likelihood of understanding these characters' perspective. Such perspective taking should rely on a more fundamental ability to infer a character's visual perspective merely by looking at the character. Based on this assumption, a dot-counting task was undertaken by 268 undergraduate students in which they either took or ignored the apparent field of vision of computer-drawn characters with varying human likeness. It was predicted that for characters that appear more humanlike, task trials with a similar visual perspective between participant and character would predict shorter response times and higher accuracy, whereas task trials with dissimilar visual perspectives would predict longer response times and lower accuracy. Although these predictions were supported, trials with dissimilar visual perspectives also yielded longer response times when they included certain photorealistic inanimate objects (e.g., a chair). Future studies will ascertain whether such perspective taking ability is similarly affected when the synthetic human characters are more photorealistic

The Aesthetic Dimensions of U.S. and South Korean Responses to Web Home Pages: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Culturally influenced preferences in website aesthetics is a topic often neglected by scholars in human-computer interaction. Kim, Lee, and Choi (2003) identified aesthetic design factors of web home pages that elicited particular responses in South Korean web users based on 13 secondary emotional dimensions. This study extends Kim et al.'s work to U.S. participants, comparing the original South Korean findings with U.S. findings. Results show that U.S. participants reliably applied translations of the emotional adjectives used in the South Korean study to the home pages. However, factor analysis revealed that the aesthetic perceptions of U.S. and South Korean participants formed different aesthetic dimensions composed of different sets of emotional adjectives, suggesting that U.S. and South Korean people perceive the aesthetics of home pages differently. These results indicate that website aesthetics can vary significantly between cultures

Too real for comfort? Uncanny responses to computer generated faces

As virtual humans approach photorealistic perfection, they risk making real humans uncomfortable. This intriguing phenomenon, known as the uncanny valley, is well known but not well understood. In an effort to demystify the causes of the uncanny valley, this paper proposes several perceptual, cognitive, and social mechanisms that have already helped address riddles like empathy, mate selection, threat avoidance, cognitive dissonance, and psychological defenses. In the four studies described herein, a computer generated human character’s facial proportions, skin texture, and level of detail were varied to examine their effect on perceived eeriness, human likeness, and attractiveness. In Study I, texture photorealism and polygon count increased human likeness. In Study II, texture photorealism heightened the accuracy of human judgments of ideal facial proportions. In Study III, atypical facial proportions were shown to be more disturbing on photorealistic faces than on other faces. In Study IV, a mismatch in the size and texture of the eyes and face was especially prone to make a character eerie. These results contest the depiction of the uncanny valley as a simple relation between comfort level and human likeness. This paper concludes by introducing a set of design principles for bridging the uncanny valley

EFFECTS OF PLYOMTRIC TRAIN lNG ON MUSCLE FATIGUE AND MAXIMAL RATE OF FORCE DEVELOPMENT OF LOWER-LIMB

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of ploymetric training on muscle fatigue and maximal rate of force development in volleyball players. Ten college volleyball players volunteered to participate in this study and underwent a 6-week plyometric training. The BTS free EMG and force-plate were used to evaluate the median frequency (MDF) of the rectus femoris (RF), anterior tibialis (AT), lateral gastrocnemius (LG), biceps femoris (BF) and maximum rate of force development (mRFD). The results revealed that the plyometric training significantly improves the MDF of RF and AT and mRFD. This study demonstrated hat by using plyometric training could facilitate the mRFD and postpone muscle fatigue for trained volleyball players