Starting from the assumption that cognition is embodied, the ROSSI project addresses the question of how the possibility of communication between agents (e.g. humans and robots) is affected by differences in sensorimotor capacities.

This is an important issue, given that robots are expected to become more common in unstructured environments, such as homes or hospitals. While there is a trend towards humanoid robots, it is clear that for the foreseeable future there will still be substantial differences in physical embodiment between robots and humans. To explore to what extent concepts must be shared to facilitate communication, we will build robots with sensorimotor systems structurally roughly similar to human beings.

Furthermore, the control mechanisms for these robots will be based on insights into the neural mechanisms underlying human concepts and language. In particular, two types of neurons in premotor cortex will be modelled: (1) canonical neurons, which are active during both the execution of specific object-directed actions and the mere visual observation of the same objects, and (2) mirror neurons, which are involved in both an agent’s own actions and the visual observation of such actions performed by others.