Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
grasping tools, objects;
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answering questions asked;
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executing activities like handing a topic, pouring water into a mug, lifting an
object from a given place etc.
Apart from the basic actions which can be freely defined for a cognitive robot
depending on its intended function , the robot must also be able to perform other
tasks. The most important one is learning. This process is based on the robot's re-
lations with its environment which sends certain signals to it. For the robot, these
signals are a certain type of behaviours which it perceives as new or as known.
Behaviours consisting in waving a hand in greeting or farewell to the robot acts as
visual stimuli for it. These stimuli are recorded in the robot's artificial brain and
then processed and analysed. As a result of this process, Ziutek the robot may
wave a hand to us, smile or nod its head. The robot also records other types of
stimuli, which include touch stimuli (understood as touching the robot directly),
tactile stimuli (e.g. wind, a draught in a room), aural stimuli including sounds (e.g.
of music from a player) and speech (distinguished as a separate aural stimulus).
The robots registers all these stimuli and cognitively analyses them. If the recogni-
tion process runs correctly, the robot takes 'responsive' action showing that the
situation has been analysed appropriately. If not, the robot may have problems
with understanding the analysed situation. It must then try to learn the new situa-
tion, new solutions, and these activities constitute a type of adaptive action for the
robot. The learning process consists in selecting significant characteristics of the
analysis process executed, which enrich the knowledge base held by the robot.
The actions taken by the robot are controlled. Control is founded on analysing
cognitive processes taking place in the robot's 'brain'. Every stimulus sent/
perceived/received initiates sensors which cause certain reactions. These reactions
are the resultant of much varied information and many actions, including experi-
ence associated with similar situations, information stored in memory layers, in-
formation of similar meaning, information worth trying to adapt to the analysed
situation and defined (programmed) executive functions. All this information,
functions and experience are interconnected and their consistency, i.e. the lack of
information about interference occurring, represents a control stage. It is at this
stage that if any inconsistencies are detected between the elements of the reaction
caused, the robot's action is interrupted or it is irrational (contrary to our expecta-
tions). If all the above elements are consistent, the stimulating reaction is caused
and ends in taking a specific action or operation (Figure 7.10).
