My robot companion: living in the uncanny valley
GameHorizon Live: Alex May discusses the need for robot companions and our reactions to simulated humanoid characteristics
Alex May is using art and robotics to investigate whether we need robot companions, and if so, what do we, as a society, want from them.
In this exclusive session from GameHorizon, Alex details the many uses for robot companions, including caring, robot nannies, sexual companions and home defence robots. He also discusses how humans interact with robots and how and why realism and humanoid characteristics can unsettle the viewer.
About
Alex May is a professional artist who utilises his extensive programming knowledge to create his own software for video projection installations and interactive digital artworks. His work explores relationships with digital technologies, and how human perception of reality can be altered and extended through code and light. He has exhibited around the UK and Europe including the V&A, Science Museum, the European Commission, and Holland Park in London, and the Science Gallery in Dublin.