Several University of Plymouth staff members have teamed up to work with a humanoid baby called iCub with the objective of teaching the robot the speak.

Language specialists will be hired to work with the project for four years. According to the team, the said specialists will carefully study how parents teach their children to speak.

Consequently, the results will be used to make the humanoid baby learn, think, and talk. It is believed that this experiment is the first of its kind in the world.

The language specialists said that they plant to teach iCub simple tasks, such as inserting objects of various shapes into corresponding holes on a box.

Aside from that, the experts added that they also plan to teach iCub learn how to serialize nested cups, and how to stack wooden blocks. Funding for the experiment will come from Italk  or Integration and Transfer of Action and Language Knowledge in Robots.

Speaking of funding, the total cost of the project will be at around GBP 4.7 million or roughly around US$ 9.32 million. The University of Plymouth will be assisted by the University of Hertfordshire and other known universities from across Europe.

"The outcome of the research will define the scientific and technological requirements for the design of humanoid robots able to develop complex behavioural, thinking and communication skills through individual and social learning," said Angelo Cangelosi, Professor in Artificial Intelligence.