Modeling the Role of Energy Management in Embodied Cognition
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\Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page i | #1 Link¨opingStudies in Science and Technology Dissertations. No. 1455 Modeling the Role of Energy Management in Embodied Cognition by Alberto Montebelli Department of Computer and Information Science Link¨opingsuniversitet SE-581 83 Link¨oping,Sweden Link¨oping2012 \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page ii | #2 Copyright: Alberto Montebelli 2012 c (unless otherwise noted) ISBN 978-91-7519-882-8 ISSN 0345{7524 Printed by LiU Tryck 2012 URL: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-76866 \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page iii | #3 \... e non per un dio ma nemmeno per gioco..." (Fabrizio De Andr´e, Un medico, 1971) \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page iv | #4 \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page v | #5 Abstract The quest for adaptive and autonomous robots, flexible enough to smoothly comply with unstructured environments and operate in close interaction with humans, seems to require a deep rethinking of classical engineering methods. The adaptivity of natural organisms, whose cognitive capacities are rooted in their biological organization, is an obvious source of inspiration. While approaches that highlight the role of embodiment in both cognitive science and cognitive robotics are gathering momentum, the crucial role of internal bodily processes as foundational components of the biological mind is still largely neglected. This thesis advocates a perspective on embodiment that emphasizes the role of non-neural bodily dynamics in the constitution of cognitive processes, in both natural and artificial systems. In the first part, it critically exam- ines the theoretical positions that have influenced current theories and the author's own position. The second part presents the author's experimental work, based on the computer simulation of simple robotic agents engaged in energy-related tasks. Proto-metabolic dynamics, modeled on the basis of actual microbial fuel cells for energy generation, constitute the founda- tions of a powerful motivational engine. Following a history of adaptation, proto-metabolic states bias the robot towards specific subsets of behaviors, viably attuned to the current context, and facilitate a swift re-adaptation to novel tasks. Proto-metabolic dynamics put the situated nature of the agent- environment sensorimotor interaction within a perspective that is functional to the maintenance of the robot's overall `survival'. Adaptive processes tend to convert metabolic constraints into opportunities, branching into a rich and energetically viable behavioral diversity. v \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page vi | #6 \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page vii | #7 Popul¨arvetenskaplig sammanfattning Dagens mobila robotar blir allt mer sj¨alvst¨andigaoch det finns redan robot- dammsugare och -gr¨asklippare.S˚adanarobotar har fortfarande v¨aldigtsv˚art att hantera mer komplexa uppgifter, s¨arskiltn¨arde m˚asteagera i naturliga milj¨oereller interagera med m¨anniskor. D¨aremotk¨annetecknas de allra flesta levande organismer av en stor adaptivitet som till˚aterdem att inter- agera med sin omv¨arldp˚aett mycket flexibelt s¨att.Mycket forskning inom kognitionsvetenskap, artificiell intelligens och robotik har de senaste ˚aren betonat kroppens roll i dessa flexibla interaktioner samt i relaterade kog- nitiva processer s˚asomperception och inl¨arning. Dock reduceras kroppen i den tekniska forskningen vanligtvis till den fysiska kroppens interaktion med omv¨arldenmed hj¨alpav sensorer och motorer, medan interna kropp- sliga tillst˚andoftast ignoreras. Denna avhandling presenterar ett antal simuleringsexperiment med en- kla adaptiva robotar som regelbundet m˚asteleta upp olika energik¨allorf¨or att ‘¨overleva'. F¨orfattarensdetaljerade analyser av dessa experiment il- lustrerar hur interna tillst˚and,som kan liknas vid organismers behov och motivationer, spelar en central roll i robotarnas beslutsfattande och i den dynamiska, kontextberoende styrningen av deras adaptiva beteende. vii \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page viii | #8 \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page ix | #9 Acknowledgments My doctoral research has given me moments of authentic intoxication. I highly value the sense of deep accomplishment that I experienced each time I was able to recognize order in the mess of data emerging from my sim- ulations. Despite the fact that anything in life can be improved upon, I will treasure such memories without a single regret. I have many people to thank for that. First of all, my advisor, Tom Ziemke, for making all of this possible. I feel honored to have worked with Tom. Together with his intellectual and material support, he gave me his trust, and the freedom to work on what I wanted to explore; that can never be forgotten. One day my co-supervisor, Robert Lowe, landed in Sk¨ovde,with his per- sonal luggage of enthusiastic intelligence, passion and deep integrity. Asked for a first impression, I simply replied: \Rob is the kind of person you want to work with." At that time, I didn't know that my intuition was as close as possible to clairvoyance. Rob, thank you for the generous amount of time that you have spent on my work, at times helping me to identify my untamed intuition and reorienting it towards more coherent and rational paths. By generously sharing their experimental data, Chris Melhuish, Ioannnis Ieropoulos and John Greenman (Bristol Robotics Laboratory) largely con- tributed to the scientific value of my research. Similarly, I want to thank all those who took the energy to give constructive criticism, a surprisingly rare and therefore extremely precious effort. Thanks to Silvia Coradeschi for her kind and pragmatic support during her initial co-supervision, to Ron Chrisley for his `heroism' in offering me feedback on the first chapters of my thesis, and to Sten Andler for introduc- ing me to the basics of scientific marketing: never call `crazy' what can be called `original'. I would also like to thank my committee for their attention to my work, and in particular Richard T. Vaughan for his willingness to venture into a transoceanic travel. I have to acknowledge the administrative support I received from Anne Moe (Link¨opingUniversity) and Lena Liljekull (University of Sk¨ovde),and their patience in the face of my apparent although unintentional inadequacy regarding bureaucratic accomplishments. Thanks to the ICEA project, to the University of Sk¨ovde,and to the EUCog network for offering me a salary, to Link¨opingUniversity and Orebro¨ University for honoring me with their doctoral studentship, and to SweCog (Swedish National Graduate School in Cognitive Science) for its frequent and generous hospitality. Life in little Sk¨ovdewould have been much less enjoyable without my colleagues and friends at the Cognition & Interaction Lab and at the Univer- sity. In particular I am thinking of Diego Federici (your initial suggestions ix \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page x | #10 really helped me to reach the goal), Anthony Morse, Carlos Herrera, Malin Aktius, Paul Hemeren, Henrik Svensson (thank you for editing with Tom the `popul¨arvetenskaplig sammanfattning' of this thesis), Serge Thill, Maria Nilsson, Maria Riveiro, Boris Duran, Jana Rambush, Thomas Fischer, India Morrison and Hector, Pierre Philippe, Filippo Saglimbeni, Gauss Lee, Kiril Kiryazov, Peter Vet¨o,Sandor Ujvari and Sofia Berg, and to the `guests' Robert Clowes, Tom Froese, Michail Maniadakis, Borys Wr´obel and Michal Joachimczak. Several other researchers have honored me with their friend- ship: human resonance is yet another terrific mystery with no scientific explanation. Despite the help of all these people, my life would have been much harder without the winter thrill of cross country skiing on `Mount' Billingen. Over its tracks, Claes Rygert taught me most of the little I know about Nordic ski, and amazed me with the authenticity of his friendship for the sake of friendship. Claes, if I were sure that this work of mine could stand at the level of your humanity, it would be dedicated to your unfading memory. I will avoid to be Italian to the extreme and list generations over gen- erations of relatives, living or not. They should know that they have my unconditioned gratitude, and large space in my thoughts. The same applies to some admittedly rare but extraordinary friends, with the only exceptions of Nicoletta Bizzi and Natasha Jankovic, that I cannot refrain from explicitly naming. I am compelled to thank Katri Shaller and our daughter Zoe. I started this section by mentioning moments of intoxication, and they both had the daunting misfortune of sharing my `scientific hang overs'. Katri helped me with rare understanding and compassion. She transforms everything around me with her mesmerizing artistic talent. Zoe is now three, and there is nothing that I crave more than her laughter. Katri and Zoe are family, despite of all of my limits and insanity. Without them nothing would make any sense. It's that simple. Alberto Montebelli Linköping April 2012 x \Thesis16" | 2012/4/28 | 1:40 | page xi | #11 Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Motivations . 1 1.2 Thesis outline . 4 1.3 Complete list of publications . 7 1.3.1 Journal papers . 7 1.3.2 International book chapters, conference and workshop papers . 7 1.3.3 National conference and workshop papers . 9 1.3.4 Conference and Workshop oral presentations . 9 1.3.5 Poster presentations . 9 2 Classical Cognitive Science 11 2.1 The mind and its philosophical investigation . 11 2.2 Science meets the mind . 13 2.3 The birth of cognitive science . 14 2.4 A computational theory of mind . 17 2.5 The conceptual siege . 21 2.5.1 The frame problem . 22 2.5.2 The Chinese room argument . 23 2.5.3 The symbol grounding and the common-sense knowl- edge problems . 24 2.6 In search of meaning . 25 3 Embodied Cognitive Science 27 3.1 What counts as embodied? . 27 3.1.1 Varieties of embodiment .