Deep Inside, ASIMO Is Canadian
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Tuesday, 23 of March , 2010 at 2:51 am
Update- Honda’s Canada PR firm threatened me in a rather heavy-handed way, and I had to take the video down. ‘Cause I guess Honda has no need for good publicity or anything. Oh, Canada!
Or at least, that’s what this new commercial from Honda would have you believe. I don’t know much about Canadians, besides what everybody knows (plaid/hockey/moose/syrup/eh), but ASIMO looks like he fits right in.
Having said that, I’m curious: does this video creep you out at all? Does it seem unnatural to have ASIMO just hanging out with people, warming his hands by the fire, or hitchhiking on a lonely stretch of road? Is it weird, or is it a future you can picture comfortably (whether you’re a Canadian or not)?
[ Honda Canada ]
Comments (6)
Category: Androids
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Comment by XV-745
Made Tuesday, 23 of March , 2010 at 9:46 am
Robots do, on occasion, creep me out… like I want to grab a pitchfork and a torch and join a lynch mob kinda creeped out. But this commercial didn’t have that effect on me. I felt a little incredulous, but not creeped out. I’m pretty skeptical about ASIMO’s ability to hang out on a (sandy!) beach or run with the horses without lots of supervision and help over difficult terrain. But if ASIMO *could* successfully navigate those terrains and provide either companionship or utility then I could definitely be comfortable with his (her?) presence…
I’d MUCH rather have ASIMO on a beach with me than Big Dog, even if Big Dog could carry more beer… yeesh, talk about a creepy beach partner…
Comment by baker
Made Tuesday, 23 of March , 2010 at 10:19 am
I agree, xv-745. ASIMO is an impressive robot and a great research (and advertising) platform, but it isn’t anywhere near actually being able to perform the behaviors it’s mimicking in that commercial in a meaningful way.
As for creepyness, I see robots as machines with hopefully useful function so I don’t get any more creeped out by a robot than I do a band saw. I usually just get annoyed when people try to make robots mimic human behavior (not to be confused with human-like actions like walking).
Comment by Evan Ackerman
Made Tuesday, 23 of March , 2010 at 1:07 pm
I’m trying to figure out what exactly it is about ASIMO that keeps him/her/it out of the Uncanny Valley. ASIMO’s movements are often so fluid that it looks like it’s just a guy in a robot suit, but maybe it’s the fact that the robot doesn’t have any facial features that makes it so much less creepy. If so, that was a stroke of genius on Honda’s part, since everybody else has been trying to give their robots faces with varying degrees of success.
Comment by baker
Made Tuesday, 23 of March , 2010 at 6:24 pm
I remember seeing a video where the creators of ASIMO were talking about the design of the face. They said pretty much what you said, that they wanted ASIMO to be seen strictly as a robot, not a human, hence the choice to make the “face” the way they did. I wish I could find the video now…
Comment by Evan Ackerman
Made Tuesday, 23 of March , 2010 at 8:16 pm
Cool, if you find it, email us, sounds interesting.
Comment by baker
Made Wednesday, 24 of March , 2010 at 12:25 pm
I still can’t find the video I was looking for (I’ll keep looking), but this video made me think of Evan’s comment about a guy in a robot suit. : ]]
