Self Recognition in the Mirror Might Be The Next Task Taken Up By A 'Self-Aware' Robot

A humanoid robot that can recognize its own reflection in the mirror was developed by researchers.

A humanoid robot that can recognize its own reflection in the mirror was developed by researchers. This development is a huge leap on the path of true self-awareness.

Nico can identify almost exactly where its arm is in space based on the mirror image.

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Yale University's Justin Hart and Brian Scassellati have taught Nico to recognise its arm's location and orientation down to accuracy of 2 centimetres in any dimension.

This is a feat of spatial reasoning that no robot has ever accomplished before, New Scientist reported.

Nico is at the centrepiece of a unique experiment to see whether a robot can tackle a classic test of self-awareness called the mirror test.

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To pass the test an animal has to recognise that a mark on the body it sees in the mirror is in fact on its own body.

Only dolphins, orcas, elephants, magpies, humans and a few other apes have passed the test so far.

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If Nico is to get to grips with the mirror test, it will have to get a precise recognition of where its body is in space, which by its nature is performed in 3D.

Mary-Anne Williams of the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, points out that robotic self-awareness is crucial if robots are ever going to work safely alongside humans.