Gollum
When fantasy fans praised The Lord of the Rings films for their special effects, they often singled out the character Gollum (pictured). His animal-like hands and feet, combined with his human-like body shape and voice made viewers’ skin crawl.
Now the brain mechanisms responsible for our horror at such human-like creatures, and why this response evolved, are being revealed. Understanding this effect could help robot designers predict how people will react to their creations.
The Gollum effect is an example of a phenomenon known as the “uncanny valley”. If a robot is clearly a robot – with metal…
