On the Influence of Sensor Morphology on Vergence

On the Influence of Sensor Morphology on Vergence

conference
Harold Martinez, Hidenobu Sumioka, Max Lungarella, Rolf Pfeifer
In the field of developmental robotics, a lot of attention has been devoted to algorithms that allow agents to build up skills through sensorimotor interaction. Such interaction is largely affected by the agent’s morphology, that is, its shape, limb articulation, as well as the position and density of sensors on its body surface. Despite its importance, the impact of morphology on behavior has not been systematically addressed. In this paper, we take inspiration from the human vision system, and demonstrate using a binocular active vision platform why sensor morphology in combination with other properties of the body, are essential conditions to achieve coordinated visual behavior (here, vergence). Specifically, to evaluate the effect of sensor morphology on behavior, we present an information-theoretic analysis quantifying the statistical regularities induced through sensorimotor interaction. Our results show that only for an adequate sensor morphology, vergence increases the amount of information structure in the sensorimotor loop.
On the Influence of Sensor Morphology on Vergence
2010
August
6226/2010
146-155
From Animals to Animats 11 Proceedings 11th International Conference on Simulation of adaptive behavior, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2010
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