User-Friendly: Anthropomorphic Devices and Mechanical Behaviour in Japan
Author(s)
Michael Shea*
Affiliation(s)
Culture, Materials and Design, Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK.
Culture, Materials and Design, Department of Anthropology, University College London, UK.
ABSTRACT
Anthropomorphic avatars and disembodied voices have become part of everyday life in Japan. From the animated characters that bow after you complete a transaction at an automated teller machine to the phenomenal proliferation of consumer goods bearing cute faces. There is a discernable growing tendency to anthropomorphize machines. These anthropomorphic devices stand in contrast with the somewhat automated nature of many human interactions. Particularly in the behavior required of employees that work in customer service roles, which calls to mind the demand that workers must often behave as machines from which the notion of a robot originates. Based on research conducted at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, examples not only of how friendliness can be mechanically produced but also of new devices being imbued with functions to demonstrate their friendliness will be critically examined.
Cite this paper
Shea, M. (2014). User-Friendly: Anthropomorphic Devices and Mechanical Behaviour in Japan. Advances in Anthropology, 4, 41-49. doi: 10.4236/aa.2014.41006.
Shea, M. (2014). User-Friendly: Anthropomorphic Devices and Mechanical Behaviour in Japan. Advances in Anthropology, 4, 41-49. doi: 10.4236/aa.2014.41006.
References
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http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/robots/carroll-text [6] Church, K., Weight, J., Berry, M., & Macdonald, H. (2010). At home with media technology. Home Cultures, 7, 263-286.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/175174210X12785760502171 [7] Clark, A., & Chalmers, D. J. (1998). The extended mind. Analysis, 58, 10-23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/analys/58.1.7 [8] Clarke, A. C. (1973). Profiles of the future. New York: Harper and Row. [9] Daniels, I. M. (2003). Scooping, raking, beckoning luck: Luck, agency and the interdependence of people and things in Japan. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 9, 619-638.
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http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/jul/24/can-manufacturing-fill-british-economic-vacuum [15] Kinsella, S. (1995). Cuties in Japan. In B. Moeran, & L. Scov (Eds.), Women, media and consumption in Japan (pp. 220-255). Curzon: Hawaii University Press. [16] Law, J. (1992). Notes on the theory of actor network: Ordering, strategy and heterogeneity. Systems Practice, 5, 379-393.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01059830 [17] McVeigh, B. J. (2000). How Hello Kitty commodifies the cute, cool and camp: “Consumutopia” versus “Control” in Japan. Journal of Material Culture, 5, 225-245.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.4249/scholarpedia.4174 [19] Metzinger, T. (2009). The ego tunnel: The science of the mind and the myth of the self. New York: Basic Books. [20] Mori, M. (1970). The uncanny valley. Energy, 7, 33-35. [21] Mutlu, B., Osman, S., Forlizzi, J., Hodgins, J., & Kiesler, S. (2006). Perceptions of asimo: An exploration on co-operation and competition with humans vs humanoid robots. Human Robot Interaction, 2006, 351-352. [22] Occhi, D. J. (2012). Wobbly aesthetics, performance and message: Comparing Japanese kyara with their anthropomorphic forebears. Asian Ethnology, 71, 109-132. [23] Osawa, H., Ohmura, R., & Imai, M. (2009). Using attachable humanoid parts for realizing imaginary intention and body image. International Journal of Social Robotics, 1, 109-123.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12369-008-0004-0 [24] Osawa, H., Orszulak, J., Godfrey, K. M., Imai, M., & Coughlin, J. F. (2010). Improving voice interaction for older people using an attachable gesture robot. 19th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication, September 2010.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2010.5598651 [25] Richardson, K. (2010). Disabling as mimesis and alterity: Making Humanoid robots at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Enamor, Imitation, 22, 75-90. [26] Robertson, J. (2007). Robo sapiens Japanicus: Humanoid robots and the posthuman family. Critical Asian Studies, 39, 369-398.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14672710701527378 [27] Sabelli, A. M., Kanda, T., & Hagita, N. (2011). A conversational robot in an elderly care centre: An ethnographic study human robot. Interaction, 11. [28] Vidal, D. (2007). Anthropomorphism or sub-anthropomorphism? An anthropological approach to gods and robots. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 13, 917-933.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2007.00464.x [29] Villiers de I’Isle-Adam, A. (2001). Tomorrow’s eve. London: University of Illinois Press. [30] Webb, M. (1983). The robots are here! Design Quarterly, 121, 5. [31] Yano, C. R. (2009). Wink on pink: Interpreting Japanese cute as it grabs the global headlines. The Journal of Asian Studies, 68, 681-688. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0021911809990015