1,669 research outputs found
Life-Space Foam: a Medium for Motivational and Cognitive Dynamics
General stochastic dynamics, developed in a framework of Feynman path
integrals, have been applied to Lewinian field--theoretic psychodynamics,
resulting in the development of a new concept of life--space foam (LSF) as a
natural medium for motivational and cognitive psychodynamics. According to LSF
formalisms, the classic Lewinian life space can be macroscopically represented
as a smooth manifold with steady force-fields and behavioral paths, while at
the microscopic level it is more realistically represented as a collection of
wildly fluctuating force-fields, (loco)motion paths and local geometries (and
topologies with holes). A set of least-action principles is used to model the
smoothness of global, macro-level LSF paths, fields and geometry. To model the
corresponding local, micro-level LSF structures, an adaptive path integral is
used, defining a multi-phase and multi-path (multi-field and multi-geometry)
transition process from intention to goal-driven action. Application examples
of this new approach include (but are not limited to) information processing,
motivational fatigue, learning, memory and decision-making.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures, elsar
Neuroethology, Computational
Over the past decade, a number of neural network researchers have used the term computational neuroethology to describe a specific approach to neuroethology. Neuroethology is the study of the neural mechanisms underlying the generation of behavior in animals, and hence it lies at the intersection of neuroscience (the study of nervous systems) and ethology (the study of animal behavior); for an introduction to neuroethology, see Simmons and Young (1999). The definition of computational neuroethology is very similar, but is not quite so dependent on studying animals: animals just happen to be biological autonomous agents. But there are also non-biological autonomous agents such as some types of robots, and some types of simulated embodied agents operating in virtual worlds. In this context, autonomous agents are self-governing entities capable of operating (i.e., coordinating perception and action) for extended periods of time in environments that are complex, uncertain, and dynamic. Thus, computational neuroethology can be characterised as the attempt to analyze the computational principles underlying the generation of behavior in animals and in artificial autonomous agents
Active Learning based on Data Uncertainty and Model Sensitivity
Robots can rapidly acquire new skills from demonstrations. However, during
generalisation of skills or transitioning across fundamentally different
skills, it is unclear whether the robot has the necessary knowledge to perform
the task. Failing to detect missing information often leads to abrupt movements
or to collisions with the environment. Active learning can quantify the
uncertainty of performing the task and, in general, locate regions of missing
information. We introduce a novel algorithm for active learning and demonstrate
its utility for generating smooth trajectories. Our approach is based on deep
generative models and metric learning in latent spaces. It relies on the
Jacobian of the likelihood to detect non-smooth transitions in the latent
space, i.e., transitions that lead to abrupt changes in the movement of the
robot. When non-smooth transitions are detected, our algorithm asks for an
additional demonstration from that specific region. The newly acquired
knowledge modifies the data manifold and allows for learning a latent
representation for generating smooth movements. We demonstrate the efficacy of
our approach on generalising elementary skills, transitioning across different
skills, and implicitly avoiding collisions with the environment. For our
experiments, we use a simulated pendulum where we observe its motion from
images and a 7-DoF anthropomorphic arm.Comment: Published on 2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent
Robots and Syste
Building Machines That Learn and Think Like People
Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) has renewed interest in
building systems that learn and think like people. Many advances have come from
using deep neural networks trained end-to-end in tasks such as object
recognition, video games, and board games, achieving performance that equals or
even beats humans in some respects. Despite their biological inspiration and
performance achievements, these systems differ from human intelligence in
crucial ways. We review progress in cognitive science suggesting that truly
human-like learning and thinking machines will have to reach beyond current
engineering trends in both what they learn, and how they learn it.
Specifically, we argue that these machines should (a) build causal models of
the world that support explanation and understanding, rather than merely
solving pattern recognition problems; (b) ground learning in intuitive theories
of physics and psychology, to support and enrich the knowledge that is learned;
and (c) harness compositionality and learning-to-learn to rapidly acquire and
generalize knowledge to new tasks and situations. We suggest concrete
challenges and promising routes towards these goals that can combine the
strengths of recent neural network advances with more structured cognitive
models.Comment: In press at Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Open call for commentary
proposals (until Nov. 22, 2016).
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/behavioral-and-brain-sciences/information/calls-for-commentary/open-calls-for-commentar
Application of Biological Learning Theories to Mobile Robot Avoidance and Approach Behaviors
We present a neural network that learns to control approach and avoidance behaviors in a mobile robot using the mechanisms of classical and operant conditioning. Learning, which requires no supervision, takes place as the robot moves around an environment cluttered with obstacles and light sources. The neural network requires no knowledge of the geometry of the robot or of the quality, number or configuration of the robot's sensors. In this article we provide a detailed presentation of the model, and show our results with the Khepera and Pioneer 1 mobile robots.Office of Naval Research (N00014-96-1-0772, N00014-95-1-0409
Literal Perceptual Inference
In this paper, I argue that theories of perception that appeal to Helmholtz’s idea of unconscious inference (“Helmholtzian” theories) should be taken literally, i.e. that the inferences appealed to in such theories are inferences in the full sense of the term, as employed elsewhere in philosophy and in ordinary discourse.
In the course of the argument, I consider constraints on inference based on the idea that inference is a deliberate acton, and on the idea that inferences depend on the syntactic structure of representations. I argue that inference is a personal-level but sometimes unconscious process that cannot in general be distinguished from association on the basis of the structures of the representations over which it’s defined. I also critique arguments against representationalist interpretations of Helmholtzian theories, and argue against the view that perceptual inference is encapsulated in a module
Quantum Interaction Approach in Cognition, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
The mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics has been successfully
employed in the last years to model situations in which the use of classical
structures gives rise to problematical situations, and where typically quantum
effects, such as 'contextuality' and 'entanglement', have been recognized. This
'Quantum Interaction Approach' is briefly reviewed in this paper focusing, in
particular, on the quantum models that have been elaborated to describe how
concepts combine in cognitive science, and on the ensuing identification of a
quantum structure in human thought. We point out that these results provide
interesting insights toward the development of a unified theory for meaning and
knowledge formalization and representation. Then, we analyze the technological
aspects and implications of our approach, and a particular attention is devoted
to the connections with symbolic artificial intelligence, quantum computation
and robotics.Comment: 10 page
AFRANCI : multi-layer architecture for cognitive agents
Tese de doutoramento. Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201
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