From Bricks to Brains

The Embodied Cognitive Science of Lego Robots

By Michael Dawson, Brian Dupuis, and Michael Wilson
Publisher: Athabasca University Press
Ebook (Kindle) : 9781771991285, 354 pages, May 2010
Paperback : 9781897425787, 352 pages, May 2010
Ebook (PDF) : 9781897425794, 354 pages, May 2010
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Table of contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. Mind Control—Internal or External?
Chapter 2. Classical Music and the Classical Mind
Chapter 3. Situated Cognition and Bricolage
Chapter 4. Braitenberg’s Vehicle 2
Chapter 5. Thoughtless Walkers
Chapter 6. Machina Speculatrix
Chapter 7. The Subsumption Architecture
Chapter 8. Embodiment, Stigmergy, and Swarm Intelligence
Chapter 9. Totems, Toys-Or Tools?

References / Index

Description

From Bricks to Brains introduces embodied cognitive science, and illustrates its foundational ideas through the construction and observation of LEGO Mindstorms robots. Discussing the characteristics that distinguish embodied cognitive science from classical cognitive science, From Bricks to Brains places a renewed emphasis on sensing and acting, the importance of embodiment, the exploration of distributed notions of control, and the development of theories by synthesizing simple systems and exploring their behaviour. Numerous examples are used to illustrate a key theme: the importance of an agent’s environment. Even simple agents, such as LEGO robots, are capable of exhibiting complex behaviour when they can sense and affect the world around them.