http://cogprints.org/3760/
Simulating Vocal Imitation in Infants, using a Growth Articulatory Model and Speech Robotics
In order to shed lights on the cognitive representations
likely to underlie early vocal imitation, we tried to simulate
Kuhl and Meltzoff's experiment (1996), using Bayesian
robotics and a statistical model of the vocal tract that had
been fitted to pre-babblers' actual vocalizations. It was
shown that audition is compulsory to account for infants'
early vocal imitation performance, inasmuch as the
simulation of purely visual imitation failed to reproduce
infants' score and pattern of imitation. Further, a small
number of vocalizations (less than 100!) appeared to be
enough for a learning process to provide scores at least as
high as those of pre-babblers. Thus, early vocal imitation
lies in the reach of a baby robot, with only a few
assumptions about learning and imitation.
Serkhane, J
Schwartz, J-L
Bessiere, P
Robotics
J
Serkhane
J-L
Schwartz
P
Bessiere