Salon.com > uncanny valley http://www.salon.com Fri, 24 May 2013 18:30:20 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Robot toddler could unlock secrets of human development http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/robot_toddler_could_unlock_secrets_of_human_development/ http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/robot_toddler_could_unlock_secrets_of_human_development/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2013 13:51:00 +0000 http://www.origin.railrode.net/?p=13168089 Robotics, neuroscience, developmental psychology, and machine learning have converged in a new project led by University of California San Diego researchers. Meet Diego-san, a robotic one-year-old that "learns" to move and interact the same way a real baby does -- by watching you.

Besides bringing us that much closer to the uncanny valley, Diego-san is also providing a deeper understanding of sensory motor and social intelligence in children.

Diego-san stands about 4 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 66 pounds. Its body has a total of 44 pneumatic joints. Its eerily lifelike head contains around 27 moving parts. High definition cameras in his eyes allow him to "see" the world around it -- and the research team is developing algorithms that allow it to “learn” from cues like gestures, facial expressions and other movements. Just like a real baby.

As reported by science website Phys.org:

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