As much as scientists are trying to avoid the uncanny valley phenomenon in robots, there are also much more everyday encounters in which technology is being made more 'human'. The iPhone and other haptic devices are one example of using touch interfaces, rather than a keypad or a stylus. These devices also have sensors so that they 'know' their orientation and displays adapt according to how we hold them.
This is part of a wider process that is making technology familiar; machines adapt to us rather than us having to adapt to them. Similarly, this piece from The Times describes how computerised voices on helplines and in GPS devices are now being given more natural speech, with pauses and coughs added to their vocabularies, “these sounds can be incredibly subtle, even unnoticeable, but have a
profound psychological effect,” say IBM, one of the companies trying to make their machines sound more 'real'.
So the uncanny valley phenomenon doesn't just relate to the appearance of robots, but also to other machines that we hear and touch. When writing Exilium, I opted for the technology in the book to be subtle and to have natural forms - computers shaped like stones, screens that appear on the air when they're needed rather than solid state devices peppering every available space, cars that change shape and phones with temporary displays.
It could be argued that robotics is a leading strand in a transference process where technology crosses platforms and enters daily lives, almost without people realising. In my interview with Honda about ASIMO back in 2004, they were matter-of-fact about how obstacle avoidance facilities would be employed in both their cars and their robots, ditto with fuel cells. Facial recognition technology has moved swiftly from robots like AIBO into digital cameras, and now these haptic responses are commonplace in mobile phones and media devices. Bit by bit, technology is becoming more personal, more embedded and more familiar.
So where next after transference?
Absorption?
