Towards cognitive agents: embodiment based object recognition for vision-based mobile agents

We propose a new architecture for recognizing objects based on a concept of “embodiment” as one of primitive functions for a cognitive robot. We define the term “embodiment” as the size and shape of the agent´s body, locomotive ability and its sensor. According to embodiment, an object is represented by reaching action paths, which correspond to a set of sequences of movements taken by the agent for reaching the object. Visual information is used to obtain sensorimotor mapping which represents the relationship between the change of object´s appearance and the movement of the agent. On the other hands, tactile information is utilized to evaluate the change of physical condition of the object caused by such movement. By means of this method, the agent can recognize an object without depending on its position and orientation in the environment. The experimental result of computer simulation is shown to validate the method