From Bricks to Brains: The Embodied Cognitive Science of LEGO Robots
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Description
Contents
Reviews
Language
English
ISBN
Unknown
Front Matter
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Mind Control—Internal or External?
1.0 Chapter Overview
1.1 Our Special Intelligence
1.2 Rodents that Engineer Wetlands
1.2.1 Castor canadensis
1.2.2 The Cognitive Beaver?
1.3 The Instincts of Insects
1.3.1 The Instinctive Wasp
1.3.2 Umwelt and Control
1.4 Paper Wasp Colonies and Their Nests
1.4.1 Colonies and Their Nests
1.4.2 Scaling Up
1.5 The Towers of Termites
1.5.1 Termite Mounds
1.5.2 The Thinking Termite?
1.6 The Rational Insect?
1.6.1 Computational Theory of Mind
1.6.2 Are Insects Representational?
1.7 Insect as Superorganism?
1.7.1 The Intelligent Whole
1.7.2 Colonial Intelligence
1.8 The Ultimate Democracy
1.8.1 Emerging Problems
1.8.2 From Whence Organization?
1.9 Programs for Nest Construction
1.9.1 An Inherited Program
1.9.2 Testing the Theory
1.10 The Environment as Program
1.10.1 A Complex Environment
1.10.2 Stigmergy
1.11 Stigmergy and the Synthetic Approach
1.11.1 The Synthetic Approach
1.11.2 Wasp Nest Examples
1.12 Stigmergy and the Parable of the Ant
1.12.1 Intelligence and Stigmergy
1.12.2 Are Mammals Stigmergic?
1.13 Embodiment and Posthumanism
1.13.1 Posthumanism
1.13.2 Embodiment
1.14 Stigmergy and Classical Cognition
1.14.1 Classical Control
1.14.2 Externalizing Control
Chapter 2. Classical Music and the Classical Mind
2.0 Chapter Overview
2.1 The Boolean Dream
2.1.1 Cognitive Science
2.1.2 Logicism
2.1.3 The Boolean Dream
2.2 Classical Cognitive Science
2.2.1 A Classical Device
2.2.2 Three Key Characteristics
2.3 Classical Views of Mind and Music
2.3.1 Mind and Music
2.3.2 A Classical Analogy
2.4 Musical Logicism
2.4.1 Musical Formalisms
2.4.2 Sonata-Allegro Form
2.5 A Harmonious Narrative
2.5.1 Representational Explanation
2.5.2 Musical Expressions
2.6 The Nature of Classical Composition
2.6.1 The Disembodied Mind
2.6.2 The Thoughtful Composer
2.7 Central Control of a Classical Performance
2.7.1 Central Control
2.7.2 Conductor as Central Controller
2.7.3 The Controlling Score
2.8 Disembodiment and the Classical Audience
2.8.1 Disembodiment
2.8.2 Audience and Composition
2.9 Classical Reactions
2.9.1 Reacting to Music
2.9.2 Classical Competitors
2.10 Modern Music
2.10.1 Out with the Old
2.10.2 In with the New
2.11 Dodecaphony
2.11.1 Tonality and Atonality
2.11.2 The Twelve-Tone Method
2.12 Reactions to Atonal Structure
2.12.1 From Structure to Structure
2.12.2 Reducing Central Control
2.13 Control and Emergence in Cage’s Music
2.13.1 Silence
2.13.2 Chance and Emergence
2.14 Emergence in Minimalist Music
2.14.1 Tape as Medium
2.14.2 It’s Gonna Rain
2.15 A Minimalist Score
2.15.1 In C
2.15.2 Minimalism and Stigmergy
2.16 Musical Stigmergy
2.16.1 Musical Swarms
2.16.2 The ReacTable
2.17 From Hot to Cool
2.17.1 The Conduit Metaphor
2.17.2 Audible Processes
2.18 The Shock of the New
2.18.1 Classical Value
2.18.2 A Tradition of Improvisation
2.19 Musical Methods and the Mind
2.19.1 Characteristic Questions
2.19.2 The Synthetic Approach
Chapter 3. Situated Cognition and Bricolage
3.0 Chapter Overview
3.1 Three Topics to Consider
3.1.1 Review to This Point
3.1.2 New Headings
3.2 Production Systems as Classical Architectures
3.2.1 The Production System
3.2.2 Classical Characteristics
3.3 Sense–Think–Act with Productions
3.3.1 An Early Production System
3.3.2 The Next ACT
3.4 Logic from Action
3.4.1 Productions and Logicism
3.4.2 Logic as Internalized Action
3.5 An EPIC Evolution
3.5.1 Productions, Sensing, and Action
3.5.2 The EPIC Architecture
3.6 Productions and Formal Operations
3.6.1 Sense—Think—Act
3.6.2 Formal Operations
3.7 Evidence for Sensing and Acting without Thinking
3.7.1 Classical Modularity
3.7.2 Visuomotor Modules
3.8 Action without Representation?
3.8.1 Multiple Visual Pathways
3.8.2 Blindsight
3.9 A Need for Action
3.9.1 Incorporating Action
3.9.2 Advantages of Action
3.10 The External World and Computation
3.10.1 Worldly Support for Cognition
3.10.2 Scaffolding
3.11 Some Implications of Scaffolding
3.11.1 The Leaky Mind
3.11.2 Group Cognition
3.11.3 Specialized Cognition
3.12 Stigmergy of Thought
3.12.1 Environmental Import
3.13 Bricolage
3.13.1 Resource Allocation
3.13.2 Thought as Bricolage
3.14 The Power of Bricolage
3.14.1 The Savage Mind
3.14.2 Power from Non-linearity
3.15 The Society of Mind
3.15.1 Agents and Agencies
3.15.2 Explaining Mental Societies
3.16 Engineering a Society of Mind
3.16.1 Reverse Engineering
3.16.2 Forward Engineering
3.17 Synthesis in Action
3.17.1 Cricket Phonotaxis
3.17.2 Robot Phonotaxis
3.18 Verum-Factum
3.18.1 Synthetic Psychology
3.18.2 Vico’s Philosophy
3.19 Mind and Method
3.19.1 Mind
3.19.2 Method
3.20 Synthesis as Process, Not as Design
3.20.1 Synthesis Is Not Design
3.20.2 Synthesis as Process
3.21 Building Bricoleurs
3.21.1 Cartesian Alternatives
3.21.2 Students as Bricoleurs
Chapter 4. Braitenberg’s Vehicle 2
4.0 Chapter Overview
4.1 A Robot’s Parable
4.1.1 Path of a Robot
4.1.2 Analysis and Synthesis
4.2 Braitenberg’s Thought Experiments
4.2.1 A Thought Experiment
4.2.2 Goals
4.3 Foraging for Parts
4.3.1 Parts and Foraging
4.3.2 Robot Bricolage
4.4 Chassis Design (steps 1 through 4)
4.4.1 General Design
4.4.2 Initial Chassis Construction
4.5 Constructing the Chassis (steps 5 through 7)
4.5.1 General Design
4.6 The NXT Interactive Servo Motor
4.6.1 The Evolution of LEGO Motors
4.6.2 The NXT Servo Motor
4.7 Adding Motors to the Chassis (steps 8 and 9)
4.8 Adding a Front Slider (step 10)
4.8.1 Passive Front Support
4.8.2 Constructing the Front Slider
4.9 Constructing Rear Axles (step 11)
4.9.1 Wheel Axle Design
4.9.2 Constructing the Wheel Axles
4.10 Attaching The NXT Brick (step 12)
4.10.1 The NXT Brick
4.10.2 Attaching the Brick
4.11 Attaching Light Sensor Supports (step 13)
4.11.1 Sensor Mount Design
4.12 Adding Light Sensors (step 14)
4.12.1 Mounting Light Sensors
4.13 Wheels and Cable Considerations
4.13.1 Completing the Robot
4.14 Sensing, Acting, and the NXT B
rick
4.14.1 The NXT Brick
4.15 NXT lLight Sensor Properties
4.15.1 The LEGO Light Sensor
4.16 Programming the NXT Brick
4.16.1 Programming Steps
4.16.2 Programming Environment
4.17 A Simple Main Task
4.17.1 The Main Task
4.17.2 Defining Variable Names
4.17.3 Miscellaneous Syntax
4.18 Linking Light Sensors to Motors
4.18.1 Two More Tasks
4.19 A Complete Program
4.20 Exploring Vehicle 2 Behaviour
4.20.1 Three Test Environments
4.20.2 A Simple World
4.20.3 A More Complex World
4.20.4 Complexities via Embodiment
4.21 Further Avenues for Bricoleurs
4.21.1 Exploring Embodiment
4.21.2 Manipulating Environments
4.21.3 Modifying Code
4.21.4 Bricolage, Not Design
Chapter 5. Thoughtless Walkers
5.0 chapter overview
5.1 Analysis vs. Synthesis
5.1.1 Synthetic Methodology
5.1.2 Analytic Methodology
5.1.3 Complementary Methodologies
5.2 Biomimetics and Analysis
5.2.1 Natural Technology
5.2.2 Early Analysis of Locomotion
5.3 From Motion Analysis to Walking Robots
5.3.1 Modern Motion Analysis
5.3.2 Biologically Inspired Robots
5.4 Analysis that Constrains Synthesis
5.4.1 Passive Dynamic Walking
5.4.2 Search and Construct
5.5 A LEGO Passive Dynamic Walker
5.5.1 Synthesis after Analysis
5.5.2 Parts and Foraging
5.6 Building a Straight-Legged Hinge
5.6.1 Centre Post
5.6.2 Support Legs
5.7 Weighting the Walker
5.7.1 The Need for Weights
5.7.2 LEGO Weights
5.8 A Specialized Environment
5.8.1 The Need for Holes
5.8.2 Building a Ramp with Gaps
5.9 Raising the Ramp
5.9.1 Reinforced Ends
5.9.2 Elevating the Platform
5.10 From Talking the Talk to Walking the Walk
5.10.1 Passive Dynamic Walking
5.10.2 Implications
5.11 Synthesis in Aid of Analysis
5.11.1 The Opposite Direction
5.11.2 Analytic Intractability
5.12 Ashby’s Homeostat
5.12.1 Homeostat Design
5.12.2 Behaviour of the Homeostat
5.13 The Great Pretender
5.13.1 Synthesis and Scaling Up
5.13.2 Strandbeest
5.14 A LEGO Strandbeest
5.14.1 Alternative Material
5.15 Segmented Design
5.15.1 Parts and Foraging
5.16 From the Ground Up
5.16.1 Ankles and Feet
5.16.2 Feet vs. Wheels
5.17 A Strandbeest Leg
5.17.1 Precise Proportions
5.18 LEGO Legs and Holy Numbers
5.18.1 Completing a Leg
5.18.2 The Holy Numbers
5.19 Reinventing the Wheel
5.19.1 Pairing Legs into a Module
5.20 Quadruped
5.20.1 Mounting the Modules
5.20.2 Gait Exploration
5.21 Manipulating Quadruped Gaits
5.21.1 Quadruped Gaits
5.21.2 Exploring Strandbeest Gaits
5.22 An Octapedal Strandbeest
5.22.1 Additional Legs
5.22.2 Walking with Eight Legs
5.23 Strandbeests in Action
5.23.1 Observing Strandbeest Gaits
5.23.2 Exploiting Stronger Situation
5.24 Alternative Gaits and Robotic Snakes
5.24.1 Snake-like Movement
5.24.2 Analyzing Snake Locomotion
5.25 The Wormeostat: A Synthetic Snake or Worm
5.25.1 Feedback and Motion
5.25.2 Motion from Friction
5.26 Foraging for Wormeostat Parts
5.26.1 Building the Wormeostat
5.26.2 Parts and Modules
5.27 Motor and Tire Assemblies
5.27.1 Motor Modules
5.27.2 Tire Assemblies
5.28 Preparing Two NXT Bricks
5.28.1 Control and Friction
5.29 Front End Friction
5.29.1 Motor Friction
5.29.2 Brick Friction
5.30 A Second Front End Motor
5.30.1 Reflected Construction
5.31 Completing the Front Half
5.31.1 Connecting Three Components
5.32 Modules for the Rear Half
5.32.1 Replicating Components
5.33 Completing the Rear Half
5.33.1 A Second Chain
5.34 The Total Wormeostat
5.34.1 Linking the Halves
5.34.2 Programming Feedback
5.35 Wormeostat Code for Motor 1
5.35.1 Motor Behaviour
5.36 Wormeostat Code for Motor 2
5.36.1 Second Verse Same as the First
5.37 Wormeostat Main Task
5.37.1 The Main Task
5.37.2 Modular Duplication
5.38 The Wormeostat’s Behaviour
5.38.1 Fireside Dogs
5.38.2 Wormeostat Movement
5.39 Implications
5.39.1 Two Cultures
5.39.2 Mending the Rift
Chapter 6. Machina Speculatrix
6.0 Chapter Overview
6.1 William Grey Walter
6.1.1 Biographical Highlights
6.1.2 A Very Public Robot
6.2 The Tortoise
6.2.1 Appearance
6.2.2 Behaviour
6.3 Speculation and Positive Tropisms
6.3.1 Exploration as Speculation
6.3.2 Phototropism
6.3.3 Inferring Internal Mechanisms
6.4 Not All Lights are the Same
6.4.1 A Negative Phototropism
6.4.2 Analysis of Behaviour
6.5 Choice
6.5.1 Buridan’s Ass
6.5.2 Complicating the Environment
6.6 Additional Negative Tropisms
6.6.1 Avoiding Obstacles
6.6.2 Avoiding Slopes
6.7 Dynamic Tropisms
6.7.1 Toys vs. Tools
6.7.2 Changing Light Sensitivity
6.8 Self-Recognition
6.8.1 Self, Not Machine
6.8.2 The Mirror Dance
6.9 Mutual Recognition
6.9.1 The Relative World
6.9.2 Social Environments
6.10 Internal Stability
6.10.1 Feedback and Cybernetics
6.10.2 Cybernetics and Simulation
6.11 Parsimony
6.11.1 Two Approaches to Stability
6.11.2 A Simple Machine
6.12 A LEGO Tortoise
6.12.1 A New Generation
6.12.2 Variations of Design
6.13 Parts for a Modular Design
6.13.1 Sophistication from Tweaking
6.14 The “Spine” of the Chassis
6.14.1 Building a Spine
6.16 Attaching Motors to the Chassis
6.16.1 Motors and Steering Gear
6.17 A Small Stick for Big Obstacles
6.17.1 Stick-In-Ring Detector
6.18 Adding a Drive Gear and Stick-in-Ring Switch
6.18.1 Front Wheel Drive
6.18.2 Stick In the Stick-In-Ring
6.19 A Vertical Front Axle
6.19.1 Front Axle Gears
6.20 Preparing the NXT Brick
6.20.1 Readying the Brick
6.20.2 Stick-In-Ring Detector
6.21 Supporting Rear Wheels
6.21.1 Rear Wheel Supports
6.21.2 Brick and Wheel Attachment
6.22 Front Wheel Assembly and Attachment
6.22.1 Front Wheel Gear Gang
6.23 Pilot Light Assembly
6.23.1 A LEGO Pilot Light
6.24 Attaching Pilot Lights and Connecting Wires
6.24.1 Pilot Light Wiring
6.25 A Periscope Mirror
6.25.1 A 360° Rotating Mirror
6.26 Sensing Light From the Periscope
6.26.1 Attaching the Periscope
6.26.2 Sensing Periscope Light
6.27 Adding More Cables
6.27.1 Periscope Wiring
6.27.2 Motor Wiring
6.28 A Surrounding Shell
6.28.1 Shell Design
6.29 Suspending the Shell
6.29.1 The Suspension System
6.30 Completing the Tortoise
6.30.1 Attaching the Shell
6.30.2 Next: Tortoise Programming
6.30.3 Embodiment Issues
Chapter 7. The Subsumption Architecture
7.0 Chapter Overview
7.1 A Sandwich of Vertical Modules
7.1.1 Cognitivism
7.1.2 The Classical Sandwich
7.2 The New Look and Its Problems
7.2.1 The New Look in Perception
7.2.2 Shakey Implications
7.3 Horizontal Layers in the Human Brain
7.3.1 Evidence from Action
7.3.2 Sandwich Alternative
7.4 Horizontal Links Between Sense and Action
7.4.1 A Sandwich Alternative
7.5 The Subsumption Architecture
7.5.1 Modularity of Mind
7.5.2 Vertical Modules
7.6 Advantages of the Subsumption Architecture
7.6.1 Reasons for Revolution
7.6.2 Coping with Multiple Goals
7.6.3 Combining Multiple Sensors
7.6.4 Robustness
7.6.5 Speed with No Modelling
7.7 Concrete Examples
7.7.1 Walking Robots
7.7.2 The Tortoise
7.8 Level 0, Basic Movement
7.8.1 A Fundamental Function
7.9 Level 1, Steering
7.9.1 Exploration
7.10 Level 2, Sensing Ambient Light
7.10.1 Light Affects Lower Levels
7.11 Level 3, Obstacle Avoidance
7.11.1 Sophistication from Tweaking
7.12 The Main Task
7.12.1 Modular Design
7.13 Observing Tortoise Behaviour
7.13.1 Level 0
7.13.2 Level 0 + Level 1
7.13.3 Level 0 + Level 1 + Level 2
7.13.4 All Four Levels
7.14 The Total Tortoise
7.14.1 Repeating History
7.14.2 Search for an Optimum
7.14.3 Free Will
7.14.4 Discernment
7.14.5 Self-Recognition
7.15 Tortoise Implications
7.15.1 Grey Walter’s Legacy
7.15.2 The LEGO Tortoise
7.15.3 Degrees of Embodiment
Chapter 8. Embodiment, Stigmergy, and Swarm Intelligence
8.0 Chapter Overview
8.1 Travelling Salesmen
8.1.1 The Travelling Salesman Problem
8.1.2 Solving the TSP
8.2 Swarm Intelligence
8.2.1 Economical Ants
8.2.2 Emergent Intelligence
8.3 Collective Contributions
8.3.1 Swarm Advantages
8.3.2 Robot Collectives
8.4 Critical Numbers of Agents
8.4.1 When Is a Swarm Intelligent?
8.4.2 A Foraging Example
8.5 Coordination, Communication, and Cost
8.5.1 Costly Coordination
8.5.2 A Stigmergic Solution
8.6 Co-operative Transport
8.6.1 Robots that Push Boxes
8.6.2 Stigmergic Co-operation
8.7 Collective Sorting
8.7.1 Spatial Sorting by Ants
8.7.2 Stigmergic Sorting by Robots
8.8 Stigmergy and Degrees of Embodiment
8.8.1 Extending the Mind into the World
8.8.2 Degrees of Embodiment
8.9 The Lemming
8.9.1 Lemming Situation
8.9.2 Lemming Embodiment
8.10 Foraging for Robot Parts and World Parts
8.10.1 Robot Parts
8.10.2 Bricks to Move
8.11 Chassis and Rear Wheels
8.11.1 NXT Brick as Chassis
8.12 Mounting Motors
8.12.1 Motors and Cables
8.13 Upper Ultrasonic Sensor and Front Wheels
8.13.1 The Upper Ultrasonic
8.13.2 Front Wheel Drive
8.14 Mounting the Lower Ultrasonic Sensor
8.14.1 Angled Ultrasonics
8.15 Designing the Brick Catcher
8.15.1 Important Embodiment
8.16 Brick Catcher, Brick Processor
8.16.1 Embodiment and Situation
8.17 Completing the Lemming
8.17.1 Final Construction
8.18 Level 0: Drive and Calibrate
8.18.1 Driving
8.18.2 Calibration
8.19 Level 1: Dodge Obstacles
8.19.1 The Lemming’s Umwelt
8.19.2 Avoiding Obstacles
8.20 Level 2: Seek Bricks
8.20.1 Brick Attraction
8.20.2 Using the Lower Ultrasonic
8.21 Level 3: Process Brick Colours
8.21.1 Bricks and Behaviour
8.22 Level -1: Integrate Levels to Control Motors
8.22.1 Multiple Motor Influences
8.23 Putting all the Levels Together
8.23.1 The Main Task
8.24 The Lonely Lemming
8.24.1 Lemming Behaviour
8.25 Collective Collecting
8.25.1 Two Lemmings
8.25.2 Three Lemmings
8.26 Explaining Sorting into Corners
8.26.1 Corner Analysis
8.26.2 Corners for Free
8.27 Do Lemmings Have Collective Intelligence?
8.27.1 “Speed” of Work
8.28 Explaining Collective Intelligence
8.28.1 Brick Dynamics
8.28.2 Interaction and the Middle
8.29 Implications and Future Directions
8.29.1 Implications
8.29.2 Future Directions
Chapter 9. Totems, Toys—Or Tools?
9.0 Chapter Overview
9.1 Are Our Robots More Than Totems?
9.1.1 Uncanny Machines
9.2 Are Our Robots More Than Toys?
9.2.1 The Tortoise as Toy
9.2.2 LEGO Is a Toy!
9.3 From Totems and Toys to Tools
9.3.1 Tortoise as Tool
9.3.2 Pedagogical and Scientific Tools
9.4 Animal Navigation and Representation
9.4.1 Navigational Organisms
9.4.2 Sense–Think–Navigate
9.5 Representation and Robot Navigation
9.5.1 Animals to Animats
9.5.2 SLAM and AntiSLAM
9.6 Spatial Behaviour and the Reorientation Task
9.6.1 Navigational Cues
9.6.2 The Reorientation Task
9.7 Basic Findings with the Reorientation Task
9.7.1 Rotational Error
9.7.2 Mandatory Geometry
9.8 Representational Theories of Reorientation
9.8.1 The Geometric Module
9.8.2 Geometry and Representation
9.9 Whither the Geometric Module?
9.9.1 Modifying Modularity
9.9.2 Non-modular Reorientation
9.10 Reactive Robots and Their Evolution
9.10.1 New Wave Robotics
9.10.2 Evolving Robots
9.11 Reactive Robots and Rotational Errors
9.11.1 Reactive Reorientation
9.11.2 Representative Reaction
9.12 Reorienting Lego Robots
9.12.1 Motivating AntiSLAM
9.12.2 Ultrasonic Sensors
9.13 AntiSLAM Overview
9.13.1 Modifying Vehicle 2
9.14 From Vehicle 2 Onward
9.14.1 Foraging for Parts
9.15 A Spine for AntiSLAM
9.15.1 Creating a Chassis
9.16 Structure from Motors
9.16.1 Motors and Axles
9.17 Sensor Supports and Front Wheels
9.17.1 Creating Sensor Supports
9.17.2 Front Wheels
9.18 Sensor Arrays
9.18.1 Mounting Sensors
9.19 AntiSLAM’s Rear Wheels and Cables
9.19.1 Rear Wheels
9.19.2 Connecting Cables
9.20 AntiSLAM Level 0: Drive
9.20.1 Subsumption Architecture
9.21 Level 1: Escape
9.21.1 Importance of Escaping
9.22 Level 2: Following Walls
9.22.1 Biasing Lower-level Behaviour
9.23 Level 3: Using Light as a Local Feature
9.23.1 Local Feature Sensitivity
9.24 Level -1: Determining Motor Speeds
9.24.1 Finally, Level -1
9.25 The Main Task
9.25.1 Putting It Together
9.26 Primitive Behaviours
9.26.1 Levels -1 + 0
9.26.2 Levels -1 + 0 + 1
9.27 Bias and Reorientation
9.27.1 Levels -1 + 0 + 1 + 2
9.27.2 Rotational Error and AntiSLAM
9.28 Beyond Rotational Error
9.28.1 Nolfi and Beyond
9.28.2 Feature Sensitivity
9.29 Moving the Local Feature
9.29.1 Moving the Light
9.30 All Levels with No Local Feature
9.30.1 Turning Lights Off
9.31 Reorienting Reorientation
9.31.1 Building a Better Mouse
9.31.2 Different Views of Reorientation
9.32 Hard Fun and Hard Science
9.32.1 Hard Fun
9.32.2 Hard Science
References
Index
About the Authors
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