An ethological model for implementation in mobile robots
Adaptive Behavior, 3 (1):
51--79 (1994)Abstract
Presents a neuroethological model (NEM) of learning and motivation that accounts for many animal behavior (AB) phenomena. Unusual predictions from the NEM have been tested and shown to be demonstrable in laboratory Siamese fighting fish. The NEM is sufficiently mathematically well defined to be implementable in a robot or in computer simulation. The authors describe a simplified version of the NEM that was programmed into a mobile robot, a thought experiment designed to show the main features of the NEM, and the preliminary robot experiments that were carried out. Using robots for NEMs of AB is interesting for both robotics and ethological research. The study of robot autonomy can be enhanced through an understanding of complex and realistic models of animal autonomy, and ethological research should benefit from a supply of guaranteed "naive" agents on which rigorous testing of such NEMs is tractable.
