Robotics: Cognitive Machines

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PC Magazine today reports some fascinating comrades of ASIMO (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility) now under development at research labs may expand the capabilities of robots even further. Meet Cog, an aluminum robot born in the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and a compelling experiment in robot cognition. It's tethered to dozens of rack-mounted PCs running QNX (a Unix- like operating system); these control everything from Cog's arm, neck, and head movement to its voice and its eyes, which capture and interpret action at 30 frames per second. Under the tutelage of lab director Rodney Brooks, the project's goal is to endow Cog with the thinking abilities of a 3-year-old.details can be found at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1130935,00.asp