| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Montebelli, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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Embodied anticipation for swift re-adaptation in neurocomputational cognitive architectures for robotic agents
- 2009
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 31th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. - Austin : Cognitive Science Society, Inc.. - 9780976831853 ; , s. 3082-3087
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The coupling between a body (in an extended sense that encompasses both neural and non-neural dynamics) and its environment is here conceived as a critical substrate for cognition. We propose and discuss the plan for a neurocomputational cognitive architecture for robotic agents, so far implemented in its minimalist form for supporting the behavior of a simple simulated agent. A non-neural internal bodily mechanism (crucially characterized by a time scale much slower than the normal sensory-motor interactions of the robot with its environment) extends the cognitive potential of a system composed of purely reactive parts with a dynamic action selection mechanism and the capacity to integrate information over time. The same non-neural mechanism is the foundation for a novel, minimalist anticipatory architecture, capable of swift re-adaptation to related yet novel tasks.
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| 13. |
- Montebelli, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
-
Embodied anticipation in neurocomputational cognitive architectures for robotic agents
- 2009
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The coupling between a body (in an extended sense that encompasses both neural and non-neural dynamics) and its environment is here conceived as a critical substrate for cognition. We propose and discuss the plan for a neurocomputational cognitive architecture for robotic agents, so far implemented in its minimal form for supporting the behavior of a simple simulated robotic agent. A non-neural internal bodily mechanism (crucially characterized by a time scale much slower than the normal sensory-motor interactions of the robot with its environment) extends the cognitive potential of a system composed of purely reactive parts with a dynamic action selection mechanism and the capacity to integrate information over time. The same non-neural mechanism is the foundation for a novel, minimalist anticipatory architecture, implementing our bodily-anticipation hypothesis and capable of swift readaptation to related yet novel tasks.1
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| 14. |
- Montebelli, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
-
Energy Constraints and Behavioral Complexity : The Case of a Robot with a Living Core
- 2011
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Ingår i: Complex Adaptive Systems: Energy, Information, and Intelligence. - Palo Alto, Calif. : AAAI Press. - 9781577355472 - 1577355474 ; , s. 109-116
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The new scenarios of contemporary adaptive robotics seem to suggest a transformation of the traditional methods. In the search for new approaches to the control of adaptive autonomous systems, the mind becomes a fundamental source of inspiration. In this paper we anticipate, through the use of simulation, the cognitive and behavioral properties that emerge from a recent prototype robotic platform, EcoBot, a family of bio-mechatronic symbionts provided with an 'artificial metabolism', that has been under physical development during recent years. Its energy reliance on a biological component and the consequent limitation of its supplied energy determine a special kind of dynamic coupling between the robot and its environment. Rather than just an obstacle, energetic constraints become the opportunity for the development of a rich set of behavioral and cognitive properties.
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| 15. |
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| 16. |
- Montebelli, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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Microbial fuel cell driven behavioural dynamics in robot simulations
- 2010
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Ingår i: Artificial Life XII. - Cambridge, Massachusetts : MIT Press. - 9780262290753 - 0262290758 ; , s. 749-756
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the present study we report the first application of a recently proposed model for realistic microbial fuel cells (MFCs) energy generation dynamics, suitable for robotic simulations with minimal and extremely limited computational overhead. A simulated agent was adapted in order to engage in a viable interaction with its environment. It achieved energy autonomy by maintaining viable levels of the critical variables of MFCs, namely cathodic hydration and anodic substrate biochemical energy. After unsupervised adaptation by genetic algorithm, these crucial variables modulate the behavioral dynamics expressed by viable robots in their interaction with the environment. The analysis of this physically rooted and self-organized dynamic action selection mechanism constitutes a novel practical contribution of this work. We also compare two different viable strategies, a self-organized continuous and a pulsed behavior, in order to foresee the possible cognitive implications of such biologicalmechatronics hybrid symbionts in a novel scenario of ecologically grounded energy and motivational autonomy.
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| 17. |
- Montebelli, Alberto
(författare)
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Modeling the Role of Energy Management in Embodied Cognition
- 2012
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The quest for adaptive and autonomous robots, flexible enough to smoothly comply with unstructured environments and operate in close interaction with humans, seems to require a deep rethinking of classical engineering methods. The adaptivity of natural organisms, whose cognitive capacities are rooted in their biological organization, is an obvious source of inspiration. While approaches that highlight the role of embodiment in both cognitive science and cognitive robotics are gathering momentum, the crucial role of internal bodily processes as foundational components of the biological mind is still largely neglected.This thesis advocates a perspective on embodiment that emphasizes the role of non-neural bodily dynamics in the constitution of cognitive processes in both natural and artificial systems. In the first part, it critically examines the theoretical positions that have influenced current theories and the author's own position. The second part presents the author's experimental work, based on the computer simulation of simple robotic agents engaged in energy-related tasks. Proto-metabolic dynamics, modeled on the basis of actual microbial fuel cells for energy generation, constitute the foundations of a powerful motivational engine. Following a history of adaptation, proto-metabolic states bias the robot towards specific subsets of behaviors, viably attuned to the current context, and facilitate a swift re-adaptation to novel tasks. Proto-metabolic dynamics put the situated nature of the agent-environment sensorimotor interaction within a perspective that is functional to the maintenance of the robot's overall `survival'. Adaptive processes tend to convert metabolic constraints into opportunities, branching into a rich and energetically viable behavioral diversity.
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| 18. |
- Montebelli, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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More from the Body : Embodied anticipation for swift re-adaptation in neurocomputational cognitive architectures for robotic agents
- 2010
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Ingår i: Advances in Cognitive Systems. - Stevenage : Institution of Engineering and Technology. - 1849190755 - 1849190763 - 9781849190756 - 9781849190763 ; , s. 249-270
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The coupling between a body (in an extended sense that encompasses both neural and non-neural dynamics) and its environment is here conceived as a critical substrate for cognition. We propose and discuss the plan for a neurocomputational cognitive architecture for robotic agents, so far implemented in its minimal form for supporting the behavior of a simple simulated robotic agent. A non-neural internal bodily mechanism (crucially characterized by a time scale much slower than the normal sensory-motor interactions of the robot with its environment) extends the cognitive potential of a system composed of purely reactive parts with a dynamic action selection mechanism and the capacity to integrate information over time. The same non-neural mechanism is the foundation for a novel, minimalist anticipatory architecture, implementing our bodily-anticipation hypothesis and capable of swift re-adaptation to related yet novel tasks.
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| 19. |
- Montebelli, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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On Cognition as Dynamical Coupling : An Analysis of Behavioral Attractor Dynamics
- 2008
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Ingår i: Adaptive Behavior. - : Sage Publications. - 1059-7123 .- 1741-2633. ; 16:2-3, s. 182-195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The interaction of brain, body, and environment can result incomplex behavior with rich dynamics, even for relatively simpleagents. Such dynamics are, however, often difficult to analyze.In this article, we explore the case of a simple simulated roboticagent, equipped with a reactive neurocontroller and an energylevel, which the agent has been evolved to recharge. A dynamicalsystems analysis shows that a non-neural internal state (energylevel), despite its simplicity, dynamically modulates the behavioralattractors of the agent—environment system, such thatthe robot's behavioral repertoire is continually adapted toits current situation and energy level. What emerges is a dynamic,non-deterministic, and highly self-organized action selectionmechanism, originating from the dynamical coupling of four systems(non-neural internal states, neurocontroller, body, and environment)operating at very different timescales.
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| 20. |
- Montebelli, Alberto, et al.
(författare)
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On handing down our tools to robots : Single-phase kinesthetic teaching for dynamic in-contact tasks
- 2015
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. - : IEEE conference proceedings. - 9781479969234 - 9781479969210 ; , s. 5628-5634
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a (generalizable) method aimed tosimultaneously transfer positional and force requirements en-coded in a physical human skill (wood planing) from a humaninstructor to a robotic arm through kinesthetic teaching. Weachieve our goal through a novel use of a common sensoryconfiguration, constituted by a force/torque sensor mountedbetween the tool and the flange of a robotic arm. The roboticarm is endowed with integrated torque sensors at each joint.The mathematical model used to capture the general dynamicof the interaction between the human user and the wood surfaceis based on Dynamic Movement Primitives. During reenactmentof the task, the system can imitate and generalize the demon-strated spatial requirements, as well as their associated forceprofiles. Therefore, the robotic arm acquires the capacity toreproduce the dynamic profile for in-contact tasks requiringan articulated coordination in the distribution of forces. Forexample, the capacity to effectively operate the plane on a woodplank over multiple strokes, according to the demonstration ofthe human instructor.
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