Hormonal Modulation of Development and Behaviour Permits a Robot to Adapt to Novel Interactions

TitleHormonal Modulation of Development and Behaviour Permits a Robot to Adapt to Novel Interactions
Publication TypeConference Paper
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsLones, J, Lewis, M, Cañamero, L
Name of ProceedingsProc. 14th Conference on the Synthesis and Simulation of Living Systems (ALIFE 2014)
Pagination184–191
PublisherMIT Press
Conference LocationNew York, NY
ISBN Number978-0-262-32621-6
Abstract

Hormones are known to play a critical role in modulating the behaviour and development of organisms when confronted with different environment challenges. In this paper we present a biologically plausible hormonal mechanism that allows an autonomous robot to interact appropriately with novel objects and interactions depending upon both its current internal state and its past experiences. In our experiments, robots that had been exposed to negative experiences during their initial developmental phase displayed withdrawn behaviour and were less likely to explore new objects and environments, or to engage with a human caregiver. In contrast, robots with a positive upbringing showed much greater levels of outgoing behaviour such as exploration and social interaction.

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URLhttps://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/978-0-262-32621-6-ch031
DOI10.7551/978-0-262-32621-6-ch031