Learning and decision-making in artificial animals

A computational model for artificial animals (animats) interacting with real or artificial ecosystems is presented. All animats use the same mechanisms for learning and decisionmaking. Each animat has its own set of needs and its own memory structure that undergoes continuous development and constitutes the basis for decision-making. The decision-making mechanism aims at keeping the needs of the animat as satisfied as possible for as long as possible. Reward and punishment are defined in terms of changes to the level of need satisfaction. The learning mechanisms are driven by prediction error relating to reward and punishment and are of two kinds: multi-objective local Q-learning and structural learning that alter the architecture of the memory structures by adding and removing nodes. The animat model has the following key properties: (1) autonomy: it operates in a fully automatic fashion, without any need for interaction with human engineers. In particular, it does not depend on human engineers to provide goals, tasks, or seed knowledge. Still, it can operate either with or without human interaction; (2) generality: it uses the same learning and decision-making mechanisms in all environments, e.g. desert environments and forest environments and for all animats, e.g. frog animats and bee animats; and (3) adequacy: it is able to learn basic forms of animal skills such as eating, drinking, locomotion, and navigation. Eight experiments are presented. The results obtained indicate that (i) dynamic memory structures are strictly more powerful than static; (ii) it is possible to use a fixed generic design to model basic cognitive processes of a wide range of animals and environments; and (iii) the animat framework enables a uniform and gradual approach to AGI, by successively taking on more challenging problems in the form of broader and more complex classes of environments

Exploring preschool children’s preferences for artificial animal appearances according to the uncanny valley phenomenon

This paper proposes extending the appearance of artefacts from human to zoomorphic on the basis of the uncanny valley phenomenon, while simultaneously realising the effects of bionic species, product realism, and gender differences on preschool children’s preferences for artificial animal appearances. In this study, animal toys were created as stimuli and a three-factor experiment was conducted with preschool children. Overall, the children demonstrated significantly stronger preferences for animal toys with extremely high or moderate realism compared with those with extremely low realism. Specifically, the boys preferred the toys with extremely high realism, and the girls preferred those with moderate realism. We conclude with some suggestions regarding the direction of design guidelines for the appearance of artificial animals, to facilitate the design and creation of animal products that promote human–robot interactions and design education.

Some Motion Models of Artificial Animals and Momentarily Continously Switching of the Models

Some local motion models of artificial animals and a method momentarily continuously to switch the models are given. A society behaviour system of artificial fishes based on the way and method is exploited, which can exhibit life behaviours and intelligence of animals. How momentarily continuously to switch the motion models of animated agents in the system is better settled. The system can illimitably generalizedly circularly run and has good man-computer interaction. Moreover the appearance, motion and behaviour of the animals in the system are lifelike and convinced. There are not bad visions such as ‘mutation’, ‘suddenly disappearring’, ‘jumpiness’of animated agents.

Motion Models of Artificial Animals and Momentarily Continously Switching of the Models

Some local motion models of artificial animals and a method momentarily continuously to switch the models are given. A society behaviour system of artificial fishes based on the way and method is exploited, which can exhibit life behaviours and intelligence of animals. How momentarily continuously to switch the motion models of animated agents in the system is better settled. The system can illimitably generalizedly circularly run and has good man-computer interaction. Moreover the appearance, motion and behaviour of the animals in the system are lifelike and convinced. There are not bad visions such as ‘mutation’, ‘suddenly disappearring’, ‘jumpiness’of animated agents.