http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png http://kotaku.com/tag/uncanny valley http://kotaku.com/tag/uncanny valley

The notion of the "Uncanny Valley", where artificial people are more disturbing the closer they come to "reality", has been around for ages. But now, thanks to a research team in San Diego, it's bonafide science. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5823297&view=rss&microfeed=true

Based in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara, Clone Factory is just that: a factory that makes clones. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5803865&view=rss&microfeed=true

Supercomputer Watson can best the best of us in Jeopardy, but can it make the games we play at home more challenging and fun? More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5766115&view=rss&microfeed=true

What makes a virtual face appear alive? According to a recent study published in Psychological Science the eyes are the most important factor in imparting life to the lifeless. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5715351&view=rss&microfeed=true

Our first look at L.A. Noire in action included some pretty amazing graphics. Strike that, it included some pretty amazing facial animation. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5687713&view=rss&microfeed=true

Everything changed in 2001, the year Nintendo decided that the future of gaming didn't lay in faster processors and photorealistic images, but in interaction. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5476603&view=rss&microfeed=true

The uncanny valley is that strange place in digital graphics where a human looks so almost real that the figure is actually more upsetting to the viewer than if they were playing, say, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 with two white sticks and a ball. For anyone who may have missed 30 Rock last week, here's the uncanny valley better articulated with the kind of references we can all understand (porn and Star Wars). More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=384789&view=rss&microfeed=true

Namco's upcoming Netsu Chu! Baseball 2007 for the PlayStation 2 treads into some of the deepest levels of the "uncanny valley", featuring a fictional, hidden baseball team called the Namco Stars. It's the stuff of nightmares, clumsy semi-humans with masks that make them look only slightly like Pac-Man, Dig Dug, the Prince of Cosmos, or the road from Pole Position and very much like fresh undead. These screenshots are not for the faint of heart. Proceed at your own risk. Michael McWhertor More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=241440&view=rss&microfeed=true

Consider the Uncanny Valley crossed... at least on some level. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=238805&view=rss&microfeed=true

The BBC tackles the photorealistic challenge facing video game developers dubbed "the uncanny valley", that uncomfortable feeling one gets from looking at a digital recreation of a human being that looks... almost human. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=238232&view=rss&microfeed=true

This might surprise you about as much as the sun rising from the east tomorrow, but EA is bringing another licensed sequel to every single platform on earth, summer of 2007. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will mark Harry and pal's first next-gen outing. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=216875&view=rss&microfeed=true

Apparently, the graphics boys at EA are so unfreakingbelievably talented, that Tiger Woods, who probably knows Tiger Woods when he sees him, was fooled by the photorealistic digital version of himself. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=213776&view=rss&microfeed=true

I don't know which is creepier, this sculptured example of the uncanny valley or the list of ingredients used to make it: silicone, polyurethane, clothing, human hair variable. I was already twitching at human hair, but just what the hell is human hair variable? Never mind, I don't think I want to know. Brian Crecente More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=211727&view=rss&microfeed=true We got a tip from some joker calling himself Skylab about this here indie game, KUDOS, which touts itself as a "turn-based life simulator". More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=187878&view=rss&microfeed=true I met up with a Softimage guy last night at a press event. Softimage recently unveiled a new application called Face Robot which creates facial animation for movies and games in a fraction of the time. More »
]]> http://kotaku.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=162087&view=rss&microfeed=true