The purpose of this study is to quantitatively and empirically investigate whether cartoon-realism, which is referred to as a guideline for avoiding the uncanny valley phenomenon, is actually effective. An experiment was carried out to investigate whether or not methods that try to realistically express the texture of human skin while making 3D models whose outward appearance abstract like a cartoon actually reduce the negative sentiments associated with the uncanny valley phenomenon. The results found that when human skin textures were applied to cartoon-type 3D models, the degree of eeriness significantly increased (p<0.05), while there was no change in the degree of human likeness. When cartoon-style skin textures were applied to human-type 3D models, there was no significant difference in the degree of eeriness, but the degree of human likeness significantly decreased (p<0.05). These results show that, cartoon realism is not actually effective, and rather creates a perceptual conflict and induces the uncanny valley phenomenon. The results of this study are expected to be used as quantitative and empirical data for developing design guidelines that will overcome the uncanny valley phenomenon in the future.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.