Epigenetic robotics: modelling cognitive development in robotic systems

摘要

According to Zlatev and Balkenius (2001), the goal of Epigenetic robotics is to understand, and model, the role of development in the emergence of increasingly complex cognitive structures from physical and social interaction. As such, Epigenetic Robotics is an interdisciplinary effort, combining developmental psychology, neuroscience, and robotics. This still recent field is being driven by two main, somewhat parallel, motivations: (a) to understand the brain by constructing embodied systems - the so-called synthetic approach, and (b) to build better systems by learning from human studies. While this two-pronged approach has led to promising results (see (Lungarella, Metta, Pfeifer, & Sandini, 2003) for a comprehensive review), these editors believe that the field will benefit from a more rigorous coupling between both components. Proposed models should provide a useful explanatory component and contribute to the validation and further development of theoretical foundations. The plausibility of a model should be demonstrated by providing possible explanations for the data available and by being accurate in a wide range of developmentally valid constraints (Berthouze & Ziemke, 2003). It is with this focus in mind that the four papers of this special issue were selected.