Working and Learning with Knowledge in the Lobes of a Humanoid's Mind

Abstract

Abstract. Humanoid class robots must have sufficient dexterity to assist people and work in an environment designed for human comfort and productivity. This dexterity, in particular the ability to use tools, requires a cognitive unde rstanding of self and the world that exceeds contemporary robotics. Our hypothesis is that the sense-think-act paradigm that has proven so successful for autonomous robots is missing one or more key elements that will be needed for humanoids to meet their full potential as autonomous human assistants. This key ingredient is knowledge. The presented work includes experiments conducted on the Robonaut system, a