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The emergence of action sequences from spatial
attention: Insight from rodent-like robots

Mitchinson, Ben; Pearson, Martin; Pipe, Anthony G.; Prescott, Tony J.

The emergence of action sequences from spatial
attention: Insight from rodent-like robots Thumbnail


Authors

Ben Mitchinson

Tony J. Prescott



Abstract

Animal behaviour is rich, varied, and smoothly integrated. One plausible model of its generation is that behavioural sub-systems compete to command effectors. In small terrestrial mammals, many behaviours are underpinned by foveation, since important effectors (teeth, tongue) are co-located with foveal sensors (microvibrissae, lips, nose), suggesting a central role for foveal selection and foveation in generating behaviour. This, along with research on primate visual attention, inspires an alternative hypothesis, that integrated behaviour can be understood as sequences of foveations with selection being amongst foveation targets based on their salience. Here, we investigate control architectures for a biomimetic robot equipped with a rodent-like vibrissal tactile sensing system, explicitly comparing a salience map model for action guidance with an earlier model implementing behaviour selection. Both architectures generate life-like action sequences, but in the salience map version higher-level behaviours are an emergent consequence of following a shifting focus of attention.

Citation

attention: Insight from rodent-like robots. Paper presented at Living Machines 2012, Barcelona, Spain

Presentation Conference Type Conference Paper (unpublished)
Conference Name Living Machines 2012
Conference Location Barcelona, Spain
Start Date Jul 1, 2012
End Date Jul 1, 2012
Publication Date Jul 1, 2012
Deposit Date Jan 21, 2013
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Keywords brain-based robotics, action selection, tactile sensing, be-
havioural integration, saliency map
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/945838
Additional Information Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems

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