Meet iCub, a 1m-high humanoid infant coming to the UK. Pictures courtesy of RobotCub.

The UK’s University of Plymouth will have the one metre-high baby humanoid robot ‘iCub’ delivered in March 2009 as part of a major four year robotics project – the first of its kind in the world.

A consortium led by Plymouth, including the University of Hertfordshire and other partners from across Europe, beat competition from 31 others to win a £4.7 million grant for the ITALK (Integration and Transfer of Action and Language Knowledge in Robots) project, which began on 1 March 2008.

ITALK aims to teach the robot to speak by employing the same methods used by parents to teach their children. The university’s robotics experts will work with specialists in language development who have researched the ways parents teach their children to speak. They will then conduct experiments in human and robot language interaction.

Typical experiments with the iCub robot will include activities such as inserting objects of various shapes into the corresponding holes in a box, serialising nested cups and stacking wooden blocks. Next, the iCub will be asked to name objects and actions so that it acquires basic phrases such as “robot puts stick on cube”.

Speaking about the research, Angelo Cangelosi, Professor in Artificial Intelligence at Plymouth, which is a world leader in cognitive robotics research, said: “In particular, the outcome of the research will define the scientific and technological requirements for the design of humanoid robots able to develop complex behavioural, thinking and communication skills through individual and social learning.”

The scientific and technological research developed during the project will have a significant impact on the future generation of interactive robotic systems within the next ten years and the leadership role of Europe in this area.

For more information, visit: www.robotcub.org