Robotics and artificial intelligence share several common paths, which means they must face similar challenges, starting with the need to act in a more "human" way. That said, two advanced robotics projects, EDI and FACE were put to the test to react to the trailer for Morgan, a sci-fi thriller that 20th Century Fox is releasing in a few days. Honestly, I don't know what's more frightening, if the robots or the movie...
The Marketing Campaign
Reaction videos to trailers, series, and movies have become very popular on the Web. As always, it's up to the user to decide which YouTubers are most sincere in their reactions, but today we have something different. Without a doubt, this is an advertising campaign by 20th Century Fox and Scott Free Productions to give an extra push to Morgan, a science fiction and horror film starring Kate Mara (The Martian) and Anya Taylor-Joy (The Witch). The official trailers tell us everything we need to know about the movie (to be honest, I think they tell us too much), but even so, Fox decided to test its content in front of two very special viewers: EDI and FACE, a project we first talked about in July 2012.
By far, the best reactions come through EDI (Electronic Deceptive Intelligence), which with expressions like "That music is scary!" and "Oh no, I can't look!" while moving its arms, steals half the trailer. In the case of FACE (Facial Automaton for Conveying Emotions), well... the robot doesn't say a single word during the whole trailer, but it keeps changing its expressions according to the content, and I admit that FACE scared me more than the trailer itself, since on a couple of occasions it seems... to smile? If a robot smiles at a trailer like Morgan's, I think all those comments about the approach of Skynet and the end of the human species are more justified.
In the second video we get additional information about EDI and FACE. EDI possesses a true battalion of sensors that help it in the "reproduction" of its emotions, and FACE's creators focus on the problem posed by the famous "Uncanny Valley". Those who know a bit more about the movie must already be making the connection between Morgan, the robots, and the Valley... but we'll stop there. The movie premieres on September 2 across the pond.
