Module 1: Overview

• Introduction

• Thinking

• Cognition, and Intelligence

• Defining Intelligence – Embodiment and Its Implications

• Synthetic Methodology for Intelligence

Introduction
What is Cognitive Robotics?

"Cognitive Robotics is the field that combines

insights and methods from robotics, AI and
cognitive and biological sciences to design an
integrated cognitive system combining the
sensorimotor behavior and higher-level functions
and social capabilities of an intelligent robot"
…Continued
Evolution
What’s Cognition?

“Cognition is the process by which an

autonomous system perceives its
environment, learns from experience,
anticipates the outcome of events, acts

to pursue goals, and adapts to changing

circumstances.”
Cognition and Thinking

• Cognition is thinking

• But it also encompasses the processes associated with perception, knowledge, problem
solving, judgment, language, and memory

• Thinking is an important component, but cognition also encompasses unconscious and

perceptual processes as well.

• In addition to thinking, cognition involves language, attention, learning, memory, and

perception
Cognition and Intelligence
• Cognition is a broader term that encompasses the various mental processes that
contribute to intelligence

• While intelligence is often associated with the ability to perform well on

standardized tests or demonstrate exceptional academic or analytical skills,
cognition refers to the underlying mechanisms and mental processes that
enable these abilities

• Cognition is the foundation upon which intelligence is built, as it

involves the fundamental mental operations that allow an
individual to acquire, manipulate, and utilize knowledge.

• Intelligence is the overall capacity to think, learn, and solve

problems, while cognition is the specific set of mental processes
and abilities that enable these higher-order functions
Why is cognition useful in robotics?

• It allows robots to work autonomously in

everyday environments

• It enables effective interaction with

humans
Modelling Cognition

• First step in developing artificial cognitive systems

1. Purpose of Cognition

2. Mechanisms by which cognitive systems fulfil the purpose

Aspects of Modelling Cognitive Systems….

1. Computational Systems

2. Bio-Inspired Systems

3. Hybrid
Computational / Biological
Level of Abstraction
Mutual Dependence of Brain, Body and Environment

• Embodied Cognition

• In human cognition, Example of embodied cognition is

to Gesture of hands while talking

Ultimate – Proximate Distinction

• “Why Vs How “

• Ultimate explanations deal with questions concerned with why a given behaviour exists in a

system or is selected through evolution

• While proximate explanations address the specific mechanisms by which these behaviours

are realized
Cognition Cycle
More Refined Definition of ”Cognition”

• Cognition is the process by which an autonomous system perceives its environment, learns

from experience, anticipates the outcome of events, acts to pursue goals, and adapts to

changing circumstances
Why Autonomy?

• To increase the system’s repertoire of effective actions, and

• To extend the time-horizon of its ability to anticipate the need for and outcome of future

actions
Desirable Features of Cognitive Systems

• Realism

• Behaviour – not exceedingly complex

• Functional capabilities

• Dynamics

• Development
Embodied Cognition
What is it?

Many features of cognition are embodied in that they are deeply dependent upon characteristics

of the physical body of an agent, such that the agent’s beyond-the-brain body plays a significant

causal role, or physically constitutive role, in that agent’s cognitive processing

How it affects the system?

• Through the physiology of the cognitive system

• Through its evolutionary history

• Through practical activity

• Through its socio-cultural situation

Through Physiology

• An agent’s perceptions depend not just on what’s happening in the environment and what the
senses convey about these events, but they also depend on the state of the motor circuits

• This two-way dependency between the sensory states and motor states extends further to include
also a two-way dependency between perceptions (and the concepts they convey) and actions (and
the goals implied by these actions)

• The mutual dependence of perception and action implies a dependence of cognition on the
embodiment of the cognitive agent and the actions that embodiment enables.
Through Evolutionary History

• The way we infer things can be traced back to more primitive inference mecha- nisms that derive
from an earlier phase in the history of evolution

• This is like redeploying an ultimate capability for a different new purpose

Through practical activity

• As a robot engage in practical activity, it develops an understanding of the environment in terms of

your embodied action capabilities
Socio-Cultural situatedness

• With respect to robots, it is the previous learning it had through its interactions with other entities
Three Hypotheses on Embodiment

1. Conceptualization Hypothesis

• The position that the physical morphology — the shape or form — and motor capabilities of a
system has a direct bearing on the way the cognitive agent understands the world in which it is
situated

2. Context Hypothesis

• The idea that the body (and possibly also the environment) plays a constitutive rather than a
supportive role in cognitive processing, i.e. that the body is itself an integral part of cognition

3. Replacement Hypothesis

• Cognition is not only influenced and biased by the characteristics and states of the agent’s
body, but the body and its dynamics augment the brain as an additional cognitive resources
Minimal Embodiment

• Minimal embodiment requires that the cognitive system be capable of “full” interaction, i.e.
interaction that not only influences and alters the state of the world but, in turn,
that these influences on the environment in turn influence the interactive process of the cognitive
system
Types of Embodiment

1. Structural coupling between agent and environment

• A system can be perturbed by its environment and can in turn perturb its environment

2. Historical embodiment
• as a result of a history of structural coupling

3. Physical embodiment
• In a structure that is capable of forcible action (this excludes software agents)

4. Organismoid embodiment
• organism-like bodily form (e.g. humanoid robots)

5. Organismic embodiment
• Autopoietic living systems

6. Social embodiment
• Reflecting the role of the agent’s body in social interaction
Organismic Embodiment
•Refers to the idea that living organisms exist as embodied, self-organizing systems
— meaning their cognition, perception, and behavior arise from their whole bodily
organization, not just their brains.
•In this view, an organism’s body and its environment are inseparable in shaping how
it experiences the world.
•The term is common in enactivist cognitive science, which argues that mind and
body are deeply interdependent.
•Example: For a human or animal, perception is not just in the brain but depends on
sensory and motor capabilities — eyes, hands, skin, muscles — and how these
interact with the environment.

Autopoietic Living Systems

•Autopoiesis means “self-producing” — a term coined by Maturana and Varela
(1970s).
•It describes how living systems continuously produce and maintain themselves.
•An autopoietic system has a network of processes (like metabolic reactions in a cell)
that generate the components (proteins, membranes) that in turn regenerate the
network — so the system is structurally and functionally closed.
•This defines a living cell as a self-bounded, self-maintaining unit.
•It is central to second-order cybernetics and biological systems theory.
….Continued
 Methodologies to
achieve cognition in
robotics
Cognitive Architecture

• The requirements of the architecture needs to be identified, partly through an analysis of

several typical scenarios in which the eventual agent would demonstrate its competence

• These requirements are then used to create an architecture schema: a task- and

implementation-independent set of rules for structuring processing components and

information, and controlling information flow

• Logical division of task-independent processing mechanisms and structure from task-

dependent knowledge
Examples of Cognitive Architecture

• Soar

• Darwin

• ISAC
Soar

• It was created by Allen Newell

• Soar is a production system

(sometimes called a rule- based

system)

• Rules in Soar are called associations

• Two memories – Recognition and

Declarative

• New production rules - chunking

• Darwin VII BBD – Brain Based Devices , Neuromimetic: mimic the neural structure of the brain
The image displays a diagram illustrating a potential model of spatial
navigation and memory, likely within a biological or robotic context,
incorporating elements of visual processing, odometry, and
hippocampal function.
•Sensory Input: The diagram begins with "Camera" and "ODOMETRY,"
suggesting inputs related to visual information (color, width) and self-motion
or position data (HD).
•Visual Processing Pathway: Visual information flows through hierarchical
stages: V1 (Color, Width), V2/4 (Color, Width), and then to IT (Inferior
Temporal Cortex), which is associated with object recognition.
•Spatial Processing Pathway: Odometry data likely feeds into areas like
HD (Head Direction cells) and ATN (Anterior Thalamic Nuclei), which are
crucial for spatial orientation and navigation.
•Hippocampal Integration: Both visual and spatial information converge
on the "HIPPOCAMPUS," a key structure for memory formation and spatial
mapping. BF (Basal Forebrain) also projects to the hippocampus,
influencing its activity.
•Output/Action: The diagram shows outputs from the hippocampus
influencing "R+" and "R-" (Reward and Punishment pathways, possibly
related to learning), and ultimately affecting "IR Platform" and "IR Wall,"
which could represent physical interactions or environmental cues. "MDG"
(Medial Dorsal Geniculate) and "MOTOR" suggest connections to motor
systems for action execution.
ISAC

• Intelligent Soft Arm Control

• A hybrid cognitive architecture for
an upper torso humanoid robot
• SAC is constructed from an
integrated collection of software
agents and associated memories
• STM has a robot-centred spatio-
temporal memory
Autonomy
conceptual framework relating "Self-maintenance," "Constitutive
• Types of Autonomy Autonomy," and "Behavioural Autonomy" along a two-dimensional
graph.
• Behavioural and constitutive Self-maintenance
is depicted on the y-axis, ranging from "weak self-maintenance" to
• Energy "strong self-maintenance." This refers to the ability to sustain oneself
• Biological physically, emotionally, and mentally, encompassing activities like proper
nutrition, exercise, rest, and stress management.
Constitutive Autonomy
is a qualitative distinction, indicating whether an entity is "Constitutively
• Homeostasis and Allostasis autonomous" or "Non-constitutively autonomous." This likely relates to
the fundamental ability of a system or individual to govern itself or its
own processes.
Behavioural Autonomy
is represented on the x-axis, ranging from "dependent" to
"independent." This refers to the degree of self-direction and freedom in
actions and choices.

The diagram suggests that these concepts interact, defining different

states or types of autonomy based on the level of self-maintenance and
behavioural independence.
This image displays a chart that illustrates the relationship
between the Degree of Automation" and different types of work or
control, ranging from entirely manual to entirely automatic.
•Degree of Automation (X-axis): This axis represents the level of
automation, from "entirely manual" on the left to "entirely automatic"
on the right.
•Work/Control Types (Y-axis): This axis categorizes different states
or types of work, from "human slave" at the bottom to "human doing
dignified work" and "perfect robot" at the top.
•Key Points:
• "Surgery" is placed in the upper-left quadrant, suggesting it is a
highly skilled task performed by humans, with a relatively low
degree of automation.
• "Supervisory control" is located in the middle, indicating a blend
of human oversight and automated processes.
• "Clockwork" is positioned in the lower-right quadrant,
representing entirely automatic, mechanical tasks.
• The diagram suggests a progression or spectrum from purely
manual human labor to fully automated robotic systems, with
various levels of human involvement and dignity in between.
The image displays two distinct biological regulatory mechanisms: Homeostasis and
Allostasis.

Homeostasis
•Goal: Maintain a stable internal environment around a fixed set point, despite
external fluctuations.
•Mechanism: Involves a sensor detecting a deviation from the set point, signaling to a
"Σ" (summation/control center) which then activates an effector to adjust the controlled
variable back to the set point.
•Example: Regulating body temperature, blood sugar, or pH levels within a narrow
range.

•Allostasis
•Goal: Achieve stability through change, anticipating and adapting to predicted
demands or stressors.
•Mechanism: Incorporates "prior knowledge" and "sensors" to make a "prediction"
about future needs, leading to adjustments in "controlled variables" via "effectors".
•Example: Physiological changes in anticipation of a perceived threat or preparing the
body for a stressful event, like increasing heart rate and blood pressure before a race.

Key Differences
•Set Point: Homeostasis aims for a fixed set point, while Allostasis involves a
dynamic, adaptable set point that shifts in response to anticipated demands.
Response: Homeostasis reacts to deviations from a set point, while Allostasis
proactively adjusts in anticipation of future needs, incorporating prior knowledge.
Focus: Homeostasis emphasizes maintaining internal stability, whereas Allostasis
focuses on achieving stability through adaptation to changing external or internal
conditions.
Types of Memory

• short-term vs. long-term

• declarative vs. procedural
• semantic vs. episodic
• symbolic vs. sub-symbolic
• modal vs. amodal modal
• hetero-associative vs. auto-associative