The race to create more human-like robots stepped up a gear this week as scientists in Spain set about building an artificial cerebellum. The end game of the two-year project is to implant the man-made cerebellum in a robot to make movements and interaction with humans more natural, BBC TV reported.
The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls motor functions.
Researchers hope that the work might also yield clues to treat cognitive diseases such as Parkinson's. The research, being undertaken at the Department of Architecture and Computing Technology at the University of Granada, is part of a wider European project dubbed Sensopac. Its target is to incorporate the cerebellum into a robot designed by the German Aerospace Centre in two year's time.
Implanting the man-made cerebellum in a robot would allow it to manipulate and interact with other objects with far greater subtlety than industrial robots can currently manage, said researcher Professor Eduardo Ros Vidal, who is co-ordinating work at the University of Granada. One use of such robots would be as home-helps for disabled people.