December 22, 2005
Self-recognition in robots
The issue of self-recognition has always been of great interest in cognitive science (and any of its sister-fields). From a development perspective, we have been curious as to when a child actually starts understanding that a mirror presents them with an image of themselves. Do our brains come pre-wired with this ability, or is it a skill we develop?
In primate studies mirrors have been a controversial topic, as initially the ability to recognize oneself in a mirror was considered "higher-cognition", and was considered to only be a human quality. However, more recent research shows that primates do in fact recognize themselves. (i recently saw a show on the Animal Planet where a chimp was using a mirror in its enclosure to remove something stuck in its teeth).
So, now it appears that we have figured out how to build this ability into artificial intelligence, creating Robots with self-awareness. This is pretty neat. As many people will be quick to argue, just because we are able to duplicate a behavior in artificial intelligence doesn't mean we've figured out how we do it, but it certainly is one step closer. Also, it adds a really cool, and decidedly functional, ability to robots and their behavior!!
Posted by lara at December 22, 2005 06:36 AM
