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Creepy meets cool in humanoid robots at CES tech show

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A lifelike, child-size doll writhed and cried before slightly shocked onlookers snapping smartphone pictures Wednesday at the CES tech show — where the line between cool and slightly disturbing robots can be thin.

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“Oh! The eyes are very scary,” said Marcelo Humerez, an exhibitor from Peru who happened upon the Pedia-Roid, which is designed for medical training, as its eyes went white.

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But just a few stands away, a humanoid named Ameca got a decidedly different reception, as it chatted with a curious crowd that marveled at its ability to make a range of stunningly person-like gestures.

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“Whoa, robot! I didn’t expect that when I turned the corner,” said Ricky Rivera, an exhibitor with Canada-based tech company Geotab. “But it looks amazing and it tracked me right away.”

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Both reactions were, in some ways, exactly what the makers had been aiming for.

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Morgan Roe from Britain-based Engineered Arts said the firm created software and technology to make Ameca person-like — though there are limits to how realistic it can be.

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“We’ve designed Ameca to be as human-like as possible in movement,” he told AFP while standing next to the robot, whose gray face moved and blinked as he spoke.

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“Humans are so complex, so making a robot exactly like a human is almost impossible,” he added. “But if we did that, then you wouldn’t be scared of it because you would just assume it was a human.”

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Just before perfection, though, is a creation that is off in ways that reveal it isn’t a living being — it’s a concept called “the uncanny valley.”

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“It doesn’t quite move like a human, it doesn’t quite express itself or emote or talk like a human. That’s the uncanny valley, that’s the scary bit,” said Roe.

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Yet the slightly frightening aspect of the Pedia-Roid robot was done on purpose, said Yusuke Ishii from Japanese firm tmsuk, which was displaying the doll.

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“We want to create a realistic scenario, so that’s the reason we added some of the scary noises, so it will behave like a child,” he said through a translator.

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The firm’s brochure notes the robot can “realistically simulate the jittery movements of a child who is reluctant to receive treatment.”

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At times, the roughly 43-inch (110-centimeter) tall robot moaned and talked, and its legs jerked — though it can also simulate convulsions or the vomiting reflex.

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Ana Kloar, an exhibitor from Slovenia, watched the Pedia-Roid for a bit and found it pretty cool.

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“A lot of children are afraid of dentists or doctors in general, and in this way you can practice how to treat them, how to comfort them,” she said.

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And what about those eyes — rolling back into the doll’s head or turning white?

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“They are a little bit creepy, but the doll, it’s quite cool,” she said.

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