The Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC) of the Italian National Council of Research (CNR) is a world-renowned research institution located in Rome, Italy. The CNR is the primary Italian national research institution, and ISTC is one of its most dynamic research centres. With more than 60 researchers and 70 postdocs/PhDs, the institute boasts a highly diverse and talented team. The research areas at ISTC are highly interdisciplinary, covering a wide range of topics from autonomous robotics, developmental robotics, and artificial life to neuroscience, psychology, and primatology.
The group of researchers involved in PILLAR-Robots has an international-level expertise on learning and motivational processes. They have led ground-breaking EU projects, such as IM-CLeVeR and GOAL-Robots, on intrinsically motivated open-ended learning, identifying and developing key aspects related to the algorithmic implementation of motivational signals, the role of goals in autonomous learning processes, and the computational and architectural structures supporting the robotic motivational system.
These insights will be instrumental in the PILLAR-Robot project, where ISTC will contribute to the development of autonomous robots. Specifically, ISTC will focus on tasks related to the integration and balancing of motivational drives, the autonomous discovery of goals and skill acquisition, the representational and abstraction processes, and the development of robotic architecture. The goal of ISTC’s involvement in the PILLAR-Robots project is to advance the state-of-the-art in autonomous robotics and develop innovative technologies that can operate in unstructured and dynamically changing environments. Visit the ISTC website of the CNR to know more.