Rational imitation for robots: the cost difference model

Winfield, Alan; Vanderelst, Dieter

Abstract

© 2017, © The Author(s) 2017. Infants imitate behaviour flexibly. Depending on the circumstances, they copy both actions and their effects or only reproduce the demonstrator’s intended goals. In view of this selective imitation, infants have been called rational imitators. The ability to selectively and adaptively imitate behaviour would be a beneficial capacity for robots. Indeed, selecting what to imitate is an outstanding unsolved problem in the field of robotic imitation. In this paper, we first present a formalized model of rational imitation suited for robotic applications. Next, we test and demonstrate it using two humanoid robots.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 11, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Apr 24, 2017
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: May 8, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: May 8, 2017
• Journal: Adaptive Behavior
• Print ISSN: 1059-7123
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-2633
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 60-71
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1059712317702950
• Keywords: imitation, robots, cognition, model, rational
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/889812
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1059712317702950
• Contract Date: May 8, 2017