Hirm tuttavliku ees: rännak õõvaorgu
Fear of the familiar: a journey to uncanny valley

Summary/Abstract: Noticing a familiar humanlike image might leave one feeling strangely scared and restless. This occurrence is called the uncanny valley. Originally from Japan, this concept is starting to regain its popularity after decades of being in the shadows. Despite the recent increase in its use world-wide, the meaning and nature of this concept has found little feedback among Estonian researchers. The focus of this article is mainly on introducing the term uncanny valley as it was proposed by Masahiro Mori. This will be supported by discussing different translations, historical context and a light introduction into the research done so far. Since the uncanny valley operates first and foremost on visual information, introduction into the concept will be illustrated with examples from modern robotics and 3D animations. In addition, this article aims to introduce the position of the uncanny valley on the scientific field by discussing which disciplines have dealt with this concept and how they have tried to explain it. Having been researched in robotics, psychology, biology and other fields, I will try to place the uncanny valley in the context of cultural semiotics.

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