Masahiro Mori

Masahiro Mori (? ??; b. 1927) is a Japanese roboticist noted for his pioneering experiments on the emotional response of humans to non-human entities, as well as for his views on religion and robots.

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1927 - Japanese

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In 1970, Mori published "Bukimi No Tani" (English title: The Uncanny Valley) in Energy. The article forwarded the hypothesis that as robots become more humanlike, they appear more familiar until a point is reached at which subtle inperfections of appearance make them look eerie.

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1970 - Uncanny Valley

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In 1974, Mori published The Buddha in the Robot: a Robot Engineer's Thoughts on Science and Religion in which he discussed the metaphysical implications of robotics. In the book, he wrote "I believe robots have the buddha-nature within them--that is, the potential for attaining buddhahood,"http://www.kosei-shuppan.co.jp/english/text/books/robot.html

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1974 - Buddha-nature

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In 1978, while on the faculty of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Mori discovered through experiments that whereas humans may develop a fondness for robots with a mechanical appearance, the fondness turns to repulsion in the case of replicants that look "almost human". Mori called this phenomenon the Uncanny Valley. The discovery lead Mori to the belief that robot builders should not attempt to make their creations overly lifelike in appearance and motion.

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1978 - Tokyo Institute of Technology - Uncanny Valley

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In 1988, Mori founded the first nation-wide robot-building competition in Japan and has widely promoted robot competitions in the years since then. http://www.asahi.com/english/lifestyle/TKY200310180131.html

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1988 - Japan

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Mori is currently president of the Mukta Research Institute, which he founded in Tokyo in order to promote his views on religion and robots. The institute also provides consultation on the use of automation and robotics in industry. http://www.karakuri.info/perspectives/

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