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The main aim of the presented study was to check whether the well-established measures concerning the attitude towards humanoid robots are good predictors for the uncanny valley effect. We present a study in which 12 computer rendered humanoid models were presented to our subjects. Their declared comfort level was cross-referenced with the Belief in Human Nature Uniqueness (BHNU) and the Negative Attitudes toward Robots that Display Human Traits (NARHT) scales. Subsequently, there was no evidence of a statistical significance between these scales and the existence of the uncanny valley phenomenon. However, correlations between expected stress level while human-robot interaction and both BHNU, as well as NARHT scales, were found. The study covered also the evaluation of the perceived robots’ characteristic and the emotional response to them.

We present the results of the background context condition experiment for the uncanny valley hypothesis. Subjects were presented with 12 computer-generated 3D models in two background variants. For the first group 12 models were rendered on a neutral background (empty room) and for the second group the same models were rendered on a suitable background, which was relevant to a given model (science-fiction scenery, town etc.). The aim of this study was to check whether the background context would influence differences in comfort level, human-likeness rating and emotional reaction to the models. A statistically significant difference in comfort levels was observed only for one of the models, the same situation was noticed for emotional reactions. We also tested the possibility of existence of more than one uncanny valley related to different factors as suggested in Kätsyri et al. (Front Psychol 6:390, 2015. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00390). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Uncanny Valley Hypothesis (UVH, proposed in the 1970s) suggests that looking at or interacting with almost human-like artificial characters would trigger eeriness or discomfort. We studied how well subjects can assess degrees of human likeness for computer-generated characters. We conducted two studies, where subjects were asked to assess human likeness of given computergenerated models (Study 1) and to point the most typical model for a given category (Study 2). The results suggest that evaluation of the way human likeness is assessed should be an internal part of UVH research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endonasal endoscopic skull base surgery (EESBS) often requires significant alterations in intranasal anatomy. For example, posterior septectomy (PS) with middle turbinate resection (MTR) is frequently performed to provide access to large sellar and clival tumors. However, little is known about the alterations that occur in sinonasal physiology. This study was designed to assess changes in sinonasal physiology after virtually performed endoscopic skull base surgery. Methods: Three-dimensional models of the sinonasal passage were created from computed tomography scans in three subjects with varying anatomy: no SD (SD), right anterior SD, and left anterior SD, respectively. Four additional surgery types were performed virtually on each model: endoscopic transsphenoidal approach (ETSA) with small (1 cm) PS (smPS), ETSA with complete (2 cm) PS, ETSA with smPS and right MTR, and ETSA with complete PS and right MTR. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed on the 3 presurgery and 12 virtual surgery models to assess changes from surgery types. Results: Increased nasal airflow corresponded to amount of tissue removed. Effects of MTR on unilateral airflow allocation were unchanged in subject with no SD, worsened in leftward SD, and reversed in rightward SD. Severity of airflow and mucosal wall interactions trended with amount of tissue removed. MTR hindered flow interactions with the olfactory mucosa in subjects with SD. Conclusion: CFD simulations on virtual surgery models are able to reasonably detect changes in airflow patterns in the computer-generated nasal models. In addition, each patient's unique anatomy influences the magnitude and direction of these changes after virtual EESBS. Once future studies can reliably correlate CFD parameters with patient symptoms, CFD will be a useful clinical tool in surgical planning and maximizing patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]