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This is awesome but the pictures of the rover with the penguin chick on it got me wandering. Do animals, in this case penguins specifically, have their own vers
by icehawk219 12y ago
This is awesome but the pictures of the rover with the penguin chick on it got me wandering. Do animals, in this case penguins specifically, have their own version of the Uncanny Valley [0]? For an animal that does I'd imagine that this could actually have a measurable negative impact on their mood. Based on the information in the article it sounds like the penguins were OK with these rovers running around. But I wonder if they'd be even calmer if they looked just a tab bit more, or less, like another penguin to them.
[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley
- BrandonMarc 12y agoI suspect that's true. The article mentions the birds even tried talking to one of the rovers ... I suspect the researchers want to ensure the rover appears (visually and behaviorally) harmless, but at the same time also doesn't appear to be something worth attacking.
- sjm-lbm 12y agoI couldn't find a mention of this in the IEEE article, but a story on NPR on this topic this morning specifically mentioned that the penguins "sang to it and seemed disappointed that the rover wouldn't peep."[1] So, yes, it looks like the penguins did hit a level where they might have been (at least) confused about what was happening. [1]: http://www.npr.org/2014/11/03/361069792/scientists-find-sneaky-way-to-check-penguins-vital-signs http://www.npr.org/2014/11/03/361069792/scientists-find-snea...