18,776 research outputs found
A biologically inspired meta-control navigation system for the Psikharpax rat robot
A biologically inspired navigation system for the mobile rat-like robot named Psikharpax is presented, allowing for self-localization and autonomous navigation in an initially unknown environment. The ability of parts of the model (e. g. the strategy selection mechanism) to reproduce rat behavioral data in various maze tasks has been validated before in simulations. But the capacity of the model to work on a real robot platform had not been tested. This paper presents our work on the implementation on the Psikharpax robot of two independent navigation strategies (a place-based planning strategy and a cue-guided taxon strategy) and a strategy selection meta-controller. We show how our robot can memorize which was the optimal strategy in each situation, by means of a reinforcement learning algorithm. Moreover, a context detector enables the controller to quickly adapt to changes in the environment-recognized as new contexts-and to restore previously acquired strategy preferences when a previously experienced context is recognized. This produces adaptivity closer to rat behavioral performance and constitutes a computational proposition of the role of the rat prefrontal cortex in strategy shifting. Moreover, such a brain-inspired meta-controller may provide an advancement for learning architectures in robotics
Design of a biologically inspired navigation system for the Psikharpax rodent robot
This work presents the development and implementation of a biologically inspired navigation system on the autonomous Psikharpax rodent robot. Our system comprises two independent navigation strategies: a taxon expert and a planning expert. The presented navigation system allows the robot to learn the optimal strategy in each situation, by relying upon a strategy selection mechanism
A Developmental Neuro-Robotics Approach for Boosting the Recognition of Handwritten Digits
Developmental psychology and neuroimaging
research identified a close link between numbers and fingers,
which can boost the initial number knowledge in children. Recent
evidence shows that a simulation of the children's embodied
strategies can improve the machine intelligence too. This article
explores the application of embodied strategies to convolutional
neural network models in the context of developmental neurorobotics, where the training information is likely to be gradually
acquired while operating rather than being abundant and fully
available as the classical machine learning scenarios. The
experimental analyses show that the proprioceptive information
from the robot fingers can improve network accuracy in the
recognition of handwritten Arabic digits when training examples
and epochs are few. This result is comparable to brain imaging
and longitudinal studies with young children. In conclusion, these
findings also support the relevance of the embodiment in the case
of artificial agents’ training and show a possible way for the
humanization of the learning process, where the robotic body can
express the internal processes of artificial intelligence making it
more understandable for humans
Inertial-Magnetic Sensors for Assessing Spatial Cognition in Infants
This paper describes a novel approach to the
assessment of spatial cognition in children. In particular we
present a wireless instrumented toy embedding magneto-inertial
sensors for orientation tracking, specifically developed to assess
the ability to insert objects into holes. To be used in naturalistic
environments (e.g. daycares), we also describe an in-field calibration
procedure based on a sequence of manual rotations, not
relying on accurate motions or sophisticated equipment.
The final accuracy of the proposed system, after the mentioned
calibration procedure, is derived by direct comparison with
a gold-standard motion tracking device. In particular, both
systems are subjected to a sequence of ten single-axis rotations
(approximately 90 deg, back and forth), about three different
axes. The root-mean-square of the angular error between the
two measurements (gold-standard vs. proposed systems) was
evaluated for each trial. In particular, the average rms error
is under 2 deg.
This study indicates that a technological approach to ecological
assessment of spatial cognition in infants is indeed feasible. As
a consequence, prevention through screening of large number of
infants is at reach
Memory and information processing in neuromorphic systems
A striking difference between brain-inspired neuromorphic processors and
current von Neumann processors architectures is the way in which memory and
processing is organized. As Information and Communication Technologies continue
to address the need for increased computational power through the increase of
cores within a digital processor, neuromorphic engineers and scientists can
complement this need by building processor architectures where memory is
distributed with the processing. In this paper we present a survey of
brain-inspired processor architectures that support models of cortical networks
and deep neural networks. These architectures range from serial clocked
implementations of multi-neuron systems to massively parallel asynchronous ones
and from purely digital systems to mixed analog/digital systems which implement
more biological-like models of neurons and synapses together with a suite of
adaptation and learning mechanisms analogous to the ones found in biological
nervous systems. We describe the advantages of the different approaches being
pursued and present the challenges that need to be addressed for building
artificial neural processing systems that can display the richness of behaviors
seen in biological systems.Comment: Submitted to Proceedings of IEEE, review of recently proposed
neuromorphic computing platforms and system
Can the g Factor Play a Role in Artificial General Intelligence Research?
In recent years, a trend in AI research has started to pursue human-level, general artificial intelli-gence (AGI). Although the AGI framework is characterised by different viewpoints on what intelligence is and how to implement it in artificial systems, it conceptualises intelligence as flexible, general-purposed, and capable of self-adapting to different contexts and tasks. Two important ques-tions remain open: a) should AGI projects simu-late the biological, neural, and cognitive mecha-nisms realising the human intelligent behaviour? and b) what is the relationship, if any, between the concept of general intelligence adopted by AGI and that adopted by psychometricians, i.e., the g factor? In this paper, we address these ques-tions and invite researchers in AI to open a dis-cussion on the theoretical conceptions and practi-cal purposes of the AGI approach
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