1. CS 4630: Intelligent Robotics and Perception
Biological Foundations (Chapter 3)
Instructor: Tucker Balch
Wonderful to be here!
This is work led by me in collaboration with my graduate students at CMU
I am going to focus on work begun over the last year that I plan to continue in the future
General -- collaborations

2. Animal Behaviors Fundamental building block of natural intelligence.
Behavior: “mapping of sensory inputs to a pattern of motor actions.”
Several types of behaviors:
Reflexive & stimulus/response (hardwired)
Reactive (learned, then used without thought)
Conscious behavior (deliberative)
Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630

3. Reflexive Behaviors Reflexes Taxes Fixed-action behaviors
Output lasts only as long as the stimulus remains. Response is proportional to stimulus
Taxes
Response is to move to a particular orientation (e.g. towards light)
Fixed-action behaviors
Response continues for a longer duration than the stimulus (e.g. fleeing)
Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630

4. Innate Releasing Mechanisms
Lorenz and Tinbergen
Specific stimulus initiates or triggers the pattern of action
E.g. predator present -> flee
Supports implicit chaining
Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630

5. Concurrent Behaviors Must somehow be arbitrated Equilibrium
Example: squirrel, flee or eat?
Dominance (Winner take all)
Example: hungry or sleepy. Can do one but not both.
Cancellation
One cancels the other – sickleback fish
Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630

6. Perception Two functions Release behaviors Accomplish behaviors
Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630

7. Ecological Approach to Perception
J.J. Gibson
Ecological (situated) perception.
Perception co-evolves with environment (example: bees).
Perception can be fooled (example: fishing lures).
“The world is its own best representation.” (quote is actually due to Brooks).
Affordances – perceivable potentialities of the environment for action. (example: what is a chair?)
Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630

8. Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630

9. Assignments Take home quiz due Today Project due Friday Tucker Balch
BORG Lab
CS 4630