Big brother untangles baby babble

"We wanted to understand how minds work and how they develop and how the interplay of innate and environmental influence makes us who we are and how we learn to communicate."

But now, Professor Roy is beginning to get some answers, thanks to an unconventional approach, an accommodating family and a house wired with technology.

I was initially inspired by how children learn language as a new way of building machines,"

"Every parent knows that a child can change a lot in a week or a month," he told BBC News.

"If you're interested in the process of development then it is important to have a continuous view."

"Just as the Human Genome Project illuminates the innate genetic code that shapes us, the Speechome Project is an important first step toward creating a map of how the environment shapes human development and learning," said Frank Moss, the director of MIT's Media Lab at the time.