Use robots to study the behavior of intelligent communication of newborns

By creating an infant robot, scientists have proven that infants (less than 4 months old) are smarter than we think: they can actively smile, control the time to laugh. The mother performs the same behavior according to her wishes.

Research on intelligent communication behavior of children by robot

According to previous research, children ages 8-12 months often use gestures and smiles as a means of communication, affecting the actions of others. Meanwhile, babies from 4 months old and below laugh a lot, especially when there are adults around and scientists want to determine whether this interactive behavior is intentional or not.

The research was conducted by scientists at the University of California, San Diego, University of Miami and Olin College. First, they observed and analyzed the real-life interaction between 13 mothers-children based on four criteria: the frequency of the child's laugh, the frequency of the mother's laugh, the frequency of both laughing and not laugh.

Based on the assumption that each side tried to use a smile to influence the other, the scientists found that the mother often tried to maximize the time they both laughed, while also trying to keep the child smiling. for the longest time. In contrast, the child just laughs when they want the mother to do the same. In other words, the mother is the main motive for both parties to smile together.

Based on data obtained in the early stages of the study, the team created an infant robot called Diego-San and programmed it to be able to smile like an infant. Then they gave the robot to interact with 32 students four times, every 3 minutes. Although this is a robot and the students are real people, it still creates the same interaction as the mother and the real child: the time the volunteers smile alone is considerably longer when the robot is on. micro active laugh.

Finally, the team came to the conclusion that 'infants can perform complex time-complex behaviors to achieve their goals. " Use the smile to catch the father, the mother does exactly what they want: smile to them.

Video describes the study using neonatal robots to identify real-life behavior.