Uncanny Valley: to Study the Acceptance of Malaysian Rural Population Towards Different Types of Robot Faces

Loke, He Jiang (2017) Uncanny Valley: to Study the Acceptance of Malaysian Rural Population Towards Different Types of Robot Faces. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

The project is “Uncanny Valley: To Study the Acceptance of Rural Population in Malaysia towards Different Types of Robot Faces”. In this project are not only focus in fabrication, and it is more in research and analysis the result to prove that the existence of uncanny valley phenomena in Malaysia rural population. As robotics advances and world population ages, robot will be seen more and more in our daily life. Robot in important role to help and convenient to human in many sectors especially on our aging society. For example, house helper, robot tasking in industrial, waiter service in restaurant. Although robot function and help human but sometime opposite effect will happen, the opposite effect might directly affected by human feeling and generated negative thinking toward robot. Nowadays, no data or result found in Malaysia about Uncanny Valley although other country. Malaysia is a multi-racial country and other country result could not be used in here. The project are interesting and important towards in robotic future. The uncanny valley is the hypothesis that human replicas that appear almost, but not exactly, like real human beings elicit feelings of eeriness and revulsion among some observers. In order to study the acceptance and investigate the existence of Uncanny Valley phenomena in Malaysia rural population, four different types of robot faces which able to express some basic emotion was designed to implement the survey by 25 participants from rural population in Malaysia. In this project, total four different types of robot faces was designed and developed. Two robot was designed and developed in this project which are Wall E Robot Faces and Human-like Robot Faces, the another two robot which are cute animal faces and Iron Man faces was under another team member. The features for each the robot faces are able to express some basic emotion, interacting emotion once PIR sensor was detected motion, LED light up and function depends on different mode of emotion and condition. The mechanical part was designed in SOLIDWORK and fabrication by 3D print, the electrical part was selected and worked with programming by Arduino in order to express basic emotion to the robot. Once the prototype was done, four different types of robot faces will present to the participants with the questionnaire designed. The participants are aim in rural population in Malaysia. Analytical data after 25 respondents was answer the question. The result had determined the existence of Uncanny Valley phenomena in Malaysia rural population. In a nutshell, the Uncanny Valley phenomena is exist in Malaysia rural population according the result. This project can be consider first data in Malaysia rural population about the Uncanny Valley. In the future, designer can be consider this result in order to design and build which kind of robot faces are accept in Malaysian population.