IIT-Madras launches India's 1st Language and Cognition Lab
IIT Madras just opened the country's first Language and Cognition Lab (LC-Lab) to dig deep into how humans perceive, process, and produce India's many languages.
Housed in the Humanities and Social Sciences department, the lab uses cutting-edge tech to explore how our brains process language, aiming to make sense of India's unique multilingual scene.
What does the LC-Lab actually do?
The lab uses tools like eye-tracking and reaction-time tests to study grammar, voice, and sentence processing—especially in people who speak more than one language.
Projects are already underway on how we build sentences, with plans to tackle dyslexia in Indian kids next.
In the long term, they plan to bring in brain-mapping tech like EEG and TMS for even richer insights.
Who's behind it—and why does it matter?
Faculty Coordinator Dr. Anindita Sahoo is helping guide an interdisciplinary effort at the lab, which aims to bring together experts from linguistics, neuroscience, AI, and more.
Their goal: real data on how Indian languages work in our minds.
With funding support from IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation and Aspire Infolab Hyderabad, the lab's work could help shape smarter learning tools—and even better AI.
How will this change AI in India?
The LC-Lab is teaming up with IIT Madras's Centre for Responsible AI to build AI systems that truly "get" India's diverse languages.
The hope is for future tech—like chatbots or translation apps—to be way more inclusive for everyone who speaks an Indian language.