Chapter 12: Robotics (version 2.0) Flashcards
How is a robot defined?
A mechanical creature that can function autonomously
What is a major inspiration of robotics deign?
The biological world (humans, animals)
What are five distinct ways in which we can study human actions?
- Neurobiological (brain activity)
- Behavioral
- Cognitive (information processing)
- Psychoanalytical (unconscious processes influence actions)
- Phenomenological (humanistic, subjective perception)
What is ethology?
The study of animal behavior (important in understanding and designing intelligent agents along with cognitive psychology)
What is the innate reasoning mechanism (IRM)?
It is similar to a reflex but operates in an open world whereas a reflex operates in a predetermined environment
What are four characteristics of an autonomous robot?
- Functions without a human operator
- Adapts to a changing environment
- Functions regardless of minor damage
- Changes its world circumstances
What is a major inspiration on robotics design?
The biological world (humans, animals)
What do we mean by “open world”?
A world in which the actions of the agents alter the world and force those agents to establish a revised view of the world
What do we mean by “closed world”?
A viewpoint that assumes that the world holds no surprises; there is everything that a robot needs to know about the world
What is considered Behavior?
A mapping (translation) of sensory inputs onto a pattern of motor actions whose purpose is to complete a task
What are N-grams?
Representations of sequences of “elementary” actions that are stored in our brain
How long do Reflexive Responses last?
As long as the stimulus that produces them. However, there are fixed-action patterns of response in which response persists longer than the stimulus
What are Reactive Responses?
Learned behaviors consolidated such that they are executed without conscious thought
What is ethology?
The study of animal behavior
What are four ways in which animals acquire behavior according to Lorenz and Tinbergen?
- Innate
- Innate, sequential
- Innate with memory
- Learned
What is the innate reasoning mechanism (INR)?
It is similar to a reflex but operates in an open world whereas a reflex operates in a predetermined environment
What are the three kinds of animal behavior IRMs can explain?
- Equilibrium (behaviors balance each other out)
- Dominance (IRM prevails)
- Cancellation (situation that initiates a third behavior)
What are Affordances?
Perceivable potentialities within the environment that serve as triggers of an action
What are the two perceptual systems in animals according to Neisser?
- Direct perception system (associated with primitive regions of the brain)
- Recognition system (associated with high-order parts of the brain)
What is action-oriented perception?
A perception mechanism that will filter stimuli and consider only what is relevant to the behavior
What is a paradigm?
An approach for developing theories and for analyzing a class of problems including analytical tools and techniques
What are the three primitive functions that prominent robotic paradigms include?
SENSE, PLAN, ACT
What is the sensing primitive?
Function that takes information from a robot’s sensors and sends useful output
What is the planning primitive?
Function that takes information from a sensor and generates a set of tasks for the robot to execute
What is the acting primitive?
Function that produces commands to the motivating or other actuators of the robot
What is a fourth robot primitive that might be added in the near future?
A LEARN primitive
What are the three categories of robot paradigms?
- Hierarchical Paradigm (traditional sense, plan, act)
- Reactive Paradigm (does not include planning)
- Hybrid Paradigm (reactive planning)
What are the main characteristics of the Reactive Paradigm?
- Speed (between SENSE and ACT)
- Simplicity (absence of “memory”)
- “Small world”
- Simple programming
- Built on choice (what happens when multiple behaviors are simultaneously active)
What is a skill set?
A combination of reflexive behavior and innate or learned behavior
What are the five functional components that may be found in Hybrid architectures?
- Mission planner (translates human commands into robotic terms)
- Cartographer (creates maps and maintains spatial information)
- Sequencer Agent (generates set of behaviors)
- Resource Manager
- Performance Monitor and Problem Solver
