<title>Why mobile robots need a spatial memory</title>

摘要

When human beings move under sensory (usually visual) guidance, they use cognitive spatial representations that they construct and update as they travel through and become more familiar with the space. Such representations include both information about the layout of the scene visible at each moment, and about the broader space that extends beyond the range of current sensory input. This paper examines what is known about such representations, the changes imposed by updating during the course of locomotion, the acquisition of knowledge as a result of exploring, and the ways in which such representations are indispensible in guiding locomotion. Finally, the role of spatial representations for mobile robots is examined to show that in the absence of some kind of spatial memory, mobile robots will be severely limited in the kinds of spatial tasks they can perform.