I came across this creepy robot on Sentient Developments,
… Its head is designed to look like that of a teddy bear, to provide reassurance to the wounded soldier it is transporting.
I don’t think I’m alone in finding that cold metal visage discomforting. I wouldn’t want to come-to, bleeding on a battlefield, staring into those lifeless inhuman eyes.
Personally I think a red cross symbol on a plywood board would make a better head. It’s not unsettling, and it’s what medics wear, so it means “help” to the wounded.
What I find so interesting about the BEAR’s “face” is that it’s clearly nonhuman, yet feels off in the same way as an android from the Uncanny Valley. My understanding of the Uncanny Valley phenomenon was that people didn’t reject creations that didn’t mimic some real creature. But I can’t accept the BEAR, even though it’s mimics a fuzzy-doll, not any kind of living creature.
I think the BEAR is an important advance in life-saving technology. I’m sure that robots will have an important roll in dangerous rescues, on and off the battlefield. But I have a feeling that a more purly-mechanical looking machine would have a more pleasing bedside manner.