memory-basedembodiedcognitionacomputa.docVIP

MEMORY-BASED EMBODIED COGNITION: A COMPUTATIONAL ARCHITECTURE Paul Baxter* and Will Browne C.I.R.G., *p.e.baxter@reading.ac.uk ABSTRACT At its most fundamental, cognition as displayed by biological agents (such as humans) may be said to consist of the manipulation and utilisation of memory. Recent discussions in the field of cognitive robotics have emphasised the role of embodiment and the necessity of a value or motivation for autonomous behaviour. This work proposes a computational architecture – the Memory-Based Cognitive (MBC) architecture – based upon these considerations for the autonomous development of control of a simple mobile robot. This novel architecture will permit the exploration of theoretical issues in cognitive robotics and animal cognition. Furthermore, the biological inspiration of the architecture is anticipated to result in a mobile robot controller which displays adaptive behaviour in unknown environments. 1. INTRODUCTION The development of artificial agents with autonomous and adaptive behaviour is an ongoing goal for cognitive robotics research. Biological agents (most notably mammals) provide arguably the best examples of these properties, and so are the source of design concepts and principles [1]. In addition, the implementation of these concepts allows an examination of their theoretical bases in the biological agents themselves. One such concept obtained from biological theory is that cognition is fundamentally concerned with the manipulation and utilisation of memory: this forms the basis of the present work. This paper proposes an explicit memory-based control architecture for a mobile robot based on functional neurobiological principles. It is proposed that this will result in an agent capable of autonomous and adaptive behaviour. Furthermore, it is anticipated that this architecture will establish a platform for exploring theoretical issues in both cognitive robotics and animal behaviour. There is a particular emphasis on a