Uncanny Valley Explained | Why Robots, Dolls and Mannequins are Creepy

The Uncanny Valley Explained - Why Robots, Dolls and Mannequins are Creepy The Uncanny Valley is a common unsettling, anxious, creepy feeling people experience when androids, robots, dolls, mannequins, video games and animations closely resemble humans but are not quite realistic enough. The phenomenon is a consideration in a number of areas of design including robotics, video game art, training simulators and 3-D animation. Designers work hard to avoid the Uncanny Valley or exploit it to elicit a particular response. The feelings of Uncanny Valley can reach extreme levels like revulsion, exceeding those experienced when viewing a corpse. The Uncanny Valley effect is experienced at different levels by different individuals, depending on the familiarity of the subject materials. Designers can bridge the valley with changes like the addition of cartoon-like or “cuter“ features Still, all humans are susceptible to Uncanny Valley. You are, too. Let’s find out why.