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Workshop on Radical Agent Concepts

WRAC 2005: Innovative Concepts for Autonomic and Agent-Based Systems pp 160–171Cite as

Autonomy Without Independence: Animal Training as a Model for Robot Design

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 3825))

Abstract

A classic autonomous robot is an autonomous agent for open, unpredictable environments. Such an agent is inherently autonomous but not independent. Independence implies unpredictability, which is incompatible with agency. The current robot models – behavior based and artificial intelligence – have not been effective at implementing the classic autonomous robot model due to limitations in their definitions. The artificial intelligence model cannot deal with unpredictable environments, and neither model directly includes the concept of agency. Animal training as a model for robotics has the potential to avoid these problems. Animal training has several advantages. It has an inherent model of agency. Goals and behavior are formally separated into human goals and animal behavior. The animal is autonomous, requiring conversation between human and animal, but it is not an independent entity. A robot designed using this model is an articulate machine, programmed as an agent for the user.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Reasonable Machines, 165 Berkshire Drive, Morgan Hill, CA, 95037, USA

    David C. Wyland

Authors
  1. David C. Wyland
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Loyola College in Maryland, 21210, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Michael G. Hinchey

  2. IBM Autonomic Computing, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Patricia Rago

  3. Advanced Architectures and Automation Branch, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 20771, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    James L. Rash

  4. Advanced Technology Laboratories, Lockheed Martin Corporation, 22203, Arlington, VA, USA

    Christopher A. Rouff

  5. School of Computing and Mathematics, University of Ulster, Jordanstown Campus, Northern Ireland

    Roy Sterritt

  6. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 588, 20771, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Walt Truszkowski

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© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Wyland, D.C. (2006). Autonomy Without Independence: Animal Training as a Model for Robot Design. In: Hinchey, M.G., Rago, P., Rash, J.L., Rouff, C.A., Sterritt, R., Truszkowski, W. (eds) Innovative Concepts for Autonomic and Agent-Based Systems. WRAC 2005. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 3825. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11964995_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11964995_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-69265-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-69266-9

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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