Perspectives on Developmental Robotics

The rapidly growing field of Developmental Robotics has two objectives:

1)    to use robotic models to inform cognitive developmental theory, and

2)    to use cognitive developmental theories to help create better robots.

This interdisciplinary workshop brings together roboticists, developmental psychologists, cognitive (neuro)scientists, computer scientists and philosophers, with the aim to identify future research directions and foster new interdisciplinary perspectives on developmental robotics and developmental science in three themes:

(1) Embodiment: How do infants, and could robots, learn about their body and its efficacy and use it to learn other cognitive skills?

(2) Social interaction: Which aspects of human development depend on interaction with other social agents at a particular time to develop in a typical fashion?

(3) Genetics & Experience: Which part of the cognitive capacities and knowledge is predefined in the cognitive architecture and which parts are developed through interaction with the environment?