Cog was a project at the Humanoid Robotics Group of the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

. It was based on the hypothesis that human-level intelligence requires gaining experience from interacting with humans, like human infants do. This in turn required many interactions with humans over a long period. Because Cog's behavior responded to what humans would consider appropriate and socially salient environmental

stimuli A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to: *Stimulation ** Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity **Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception *Stimulus (econom ...

, the robot was expected to act more human. This behavior also provided the robot with a better context for deciphering and imitating human behavior. This was intended to allow the robot to learn socially, as humans do. As of 2003, all development of the project had ceased. Today Cog is retired to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology museum.

Principle Investigators

Rodney Brooks Rodney Allen Brooks (born 30 December 1954) is an Australian roboticist, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, author, and robotics entrepreneur, most known for popularizing the actionist approach to robotics. He was a Panasonic Profe ...

Lynn Andrea Stein Lynn may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Lynn (surname) * The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn * Lynn ( ...

Purpose of the Cog Project

*To study theories of cognitive science and artificial intelligence (AI).

Goals of the Cog Project

*To design and fabricate a humanoid face for each robot that fosters suitable social contact between robots and humans. *To create a robot which is capable of interacting with humans and objects in a human-like way. *To develop a relatively general system by which Cog can learn causal relations between commands to its motors and input from its sensors (primarily vision and mechanical proprioception). *To shift the robot aesthetic to a design language that utilizes strong curvilinear and organic forms through state of the art design processes and materials.

Research and advancements

*Development of a human-like face for Cog (complete). *Obtaining major degrees of motor freedom in trunk (complete), head (complete), arms (complete), legs, and a flexible spine. *Sight (through video cameras that respond to movement; complete). *Hearing, touch, vocalization system, and hands. *Allowing Cog to learn how its own movements alter its sensory inputs. *Forcing Cog to take energy efficiency into account during movements.

Justification

One motivation for making

humanoid robot A humanoid robot is a robot resembling the human body in shape. The design may be for functional purposes, such as interacting with human tools and environments, for experimental purposes, such as the study of bipedal locomotion, or for other p ...

s can be understood in the book ''Philosophy in the Flesh'' by Mark Johnson and

George Lakoff George Philip Lakoff (; born May 24, 1941) is an American cognitive linguist and philosopher, best known for his thesis that people's lives are significantly influenced by the conceptual metaphors they use to explain complex phenomena. The co ...

. They argue that the contents of human thoughts are to some degree dependent on the physical structure of our

brain The brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head ( cephalization), usually near organs for special ...

s. By constructing artificial intelligence systems that have structural features similar to those of humans, we may be more likely to achieve human-like functionality. Another motivation for building humanoid robotic systems is that a machine with a human-like form may have more human-like interactions with people. This could be particularly important for an

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech r ...

device to learn from people in the way that human children learn through interactions within a social group.

Media appearances

Cog appeared on ABC's ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarc ...

'' in a segment drumming with

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a dr ...

titled "Dan vs. Cog". Cog appeared in the ''

Understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object ...

'' television series episode "The Senses". Cog appeared in Sherry Turkle's book

Alone Together Alone Together may refer to: Music Albums * ''Alone Together'' (Benny Carter album), 1956 * ''Alone Together'' (Tony Bennett album), 1961 * ''Alone Together'' (Dave Mason album), 1970 * ''Alone Together'' (Ron Carter and Jim Hall album), 1972 ...

Cog's earliest popular science appearance was the 1994 ''Bringing Up RoboBaby'' published in

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

and authored by

David H. Freedman David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. As confirmed in the original project proposal by Brooks and Stein, Freedman reports AI consciousness was part of the original goal.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://groups.csail.mit.edu/lbr/humanoid-robotics-group/cog/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology Humanoid robots 2003 disestablishments in Massachusetts Robots of the United States Social robots 1993 robots