Use your Illusion:Sensorimotor self-simulation allows complex agents to plan with incomplete self-knowledge
Richard Vaughan and Mauricio Zuluaga
Simulation of Adaptive Behavior 2006 (SAB 2006)
Rome, Italy, 25-29 September 2006
Summary
We present a practical application of sensorimotor self-simulation for a mobile robot. Using its self-simulation, the robot can reason about its ability to perform tasks, despite having no model of many of its internal processes and thus no way to create an {\it a priori} configuration space in which to search. We suggest that this in-the-head rehearsal of tasks is particularly useful when the tasks carry a high risk of robot ``death'', as it provides a source of negative feedback in perfect safety. This approach is a useful complement to existing work using forward models for anticipatory behaviour. A minimal system is shown to be effective in simulation and real-world experiments. The virtues and limitations of the approach are discussed and future work suggested.