If to you robots seem eerie and creepy, Japan seems to love them despite all the imperfections and faults. They have a long ongoing love affair with humanoid robots. So what you ask. Well, like it or not, robots are a glimpse of the future.
The more human-like, the more positive we'll respond right? The robots get more and more human-like and soon our acceptance will rise. Japan moved into a robot valley a while back.
Let's take a look at a couple of present-day examples of robots in Japan. Take a look at the Toshiba’s Aiko Chihira, which has worked as a receptionist in Tokyo department stores.
Here is another example where Dr. Yoshio Matsumoto presented a test involving putting their Actroid F twin androids in doctor’s offices as support for patients during consultations. The results showed that patients generally felt their doctor was more sympathetic, better understood what they were being told, and generally felt less anxious when the android was in the room with them.
Japanese people are generally more exposed to robots today than anyone else on the planet. The exposure is partially why Japanese people in general find robots acceptable, including the eerie ones. People living in Japan encounter robots and other kinds of automated systems — in their day-to-day life way more than most people. It seems robots are viewed more positively there. Japan is busy deploying robots for many different tasks. It is, in fact, an initiative that the government believes will help revitalize the Japanese economy. Robots are already used in health care and in elder care. One interesting fact is that elderly people, sometimes happily use the robots as conversation partners.
While Japan is aging rapidly the same can be said for many parts of the rest of the world. Silicon Valley investors are catching up. How about Anybot? Virtual Presence that utilizes the Internet to transmit audio & video between the pilot and his QB avatar.
As history evolves and cultures change, exposure to robots will increase. Part of the reason why this seems to be going smoothly in Japan is that Japanese people have been exposed to robots more than most other people on planet.
The results indicate that once you get to know them, they really are not that creepy at all.
