Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!uunet!nic.unh.edu!newshost.unh.edu!rg
From: rg@msel.unh.edu (Roger Gonzalez)
Subject: Re: MIT Insect Robots
In-Reply-To: awfuchs@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au's message of Mon, 8 Jun 1992 09: 52:41 GMT
Message-ID: <RG.92Jun10094502@nymph.msel.unh.edu>
Sender: news@nic.unh.edu (USENET News System)
Organization: UNH Marine Systems Engineering Lab
References: <1992Jun3.213155.24343@seer.gentoo.com>
	<1992Jun4.172854.19251@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov> <48844@dime.cs.umass.edu>
	<1992Jun8.001739.21290@seer.gentoo.com>
	<1992Jun8.095241.9328@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au>
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1992 14:45:02 GMT
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>>>>> On Mon, 8 Jun 1992 09:52:41 GMT, awfuchs@monu6.cc.monash.edu.au (A.W. Fuchs) said:

-> To summarize, I find the MIT "insect" approach very refreshing
-> and possibly, in the long run, the *only* way to approach the
-> problem of artificial intelligence/life in the real world (as
-> opposed to in an information space, which may be just as valid,
-> but much less Frankenstein-satisfying, n'est pas?)

I also believe that the insect approach is the way to go (although I have
reservations about the subsumption architecture) and I loved this paragraph.
I hope you don't mind if I quote it. :-)

One (current) limitation of most bug-robots seems to be that they are purely
reactive, and contain no memory whatsoever.  So they frequently get "trapped"
in behavior loops.  Since biological insects obviously do have memory, and
even limited communication, obviously we aren't even up to the level of Real
(tm) bugs yet.

I'm curious to see if anyone is working on combining the bug approaches with
biologically realistic memory.  Any references?

Anyone have a figure for the number of neuronal units in the brainpan of a wasp?

-Roger


--
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting
 than the question of whether a submarine can swim" - Edsger W. Dijkstra 

Roger Gonzalez   -  rg@msel.unh.edu
Division of Bit Banging and Reluctant Robotics
UNH Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory, Durham, NH  03824-3525
(603) 862-4600 -4399 (fax)

