Monkeys learned to recognize faces using a touch device
- Two-week test in Costa Rica
Scientists from Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology developed CapuchinAI 1.0 – a wooden box with a touchscreen, camera, and banana tray. Inside is a computer using the YOLO neural network, trained on photographs of capuchins, to recognize their faces.
During a two-week pilot test in the Taboga Nature Reserve in Costa Rica, 16 wild white-headed capuchins, accustomed to humans, voluntarily interacted with the device. As they approached the box, tasks appeared on the screen, and the monkeys received bananas for completing them.
The results showed that ten out of 16 animals learned to touch the screen to receive a treat, and eight of them understood the connection between touching and food, actively watching the tray in anticipation of a reward.
The experiment was published in the American Journal of Primatology, detailing the methodology and results of the study.
Source: N+1
