Nico: A New Social Robot

Posted 23 Apr 2005 at 01:13 UTC by steve

The Yale Daily News has posted an article (and a correction) about Nico, a humanoid social robot being developed by Brian Scassellati. Nico's brain is made up of 16 networked computers. The robot is designed to "evaluate models of social development in children and help diagnose disorders like autism". The robot's behavior is modelled after that of children and attempts to duplicate their process of learning to reach for and grasp objects. The robot is also able to perceive the emotional intonation of voices and react to them.

DSM-AI, posted 23 Apr 2005 at 04:04 UTC by AI4U » (Observer)

If the Nico robot itself develops any mental problems while trying to "diagnose disorders like autism," the Diagnostic Software Manual of Robot Mental Disorders is available in case Nico needs mental health care.

A baby Cog, posted 23 Apr 2005 at 09:00 UTC by motters » (Master)

I'm not an expert on autism, so I'm not sure whether you could use a robot to diagnose it or not. Brian Scassellati was of course one of the masterminds behind the Cog robot in the 1990s, and I think Nico is based on a similar design. I wonder what happened to Cog. Is it still going? Or more likely it's probably been dissmantled for spare parts for other robots.