Connectionists: CFP: Frontiers Research Topic on Re-Enacting Sensorimotor Experience for Cognition

[Guido Schillaci]

***Apologies for multiple postings of this announcement***

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CALL FOR PAPERS
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Research Topic on Re-Enacting Sensorimotor Experience for Cognition
Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Section: Humanoid Robotics
http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/3747

Hosted by Guido Schillaci (Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Germany),
Verena V. Hafner (Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Germany) and Bruno
Lara (Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos, Mexico).


IMPORTANT DATE
Deadline for full article submission: 31 July 2015

Authors guidelines can be found here:
http://www.frontiersin.org/about/authorguidelines

(Note: Frontiers' publishing fees
(http://www.frontiersin.org/about/publishingfees) are reduced when the
paper is part of a Research Topic)
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Description of the Research Topic
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Mastering the sensorimotor capabilities of our body is a skill that we
acquire and refine over time, starting at the prenatal stages of
development. This learning process is linked to brain development and
is shaped by the rich set of multimodal information experienced while
exploring and interacting with the environment.

Evidence coming from neuroscience suggests that the brain forms and
maintains body representations as the main strategy to this mastering.
Although it is still not clear how this knowledge is represented in
our brain, it is reasonable to think that such internal models of the
body undergo a continuous process of adaptation. They need to match
growing corporal dimensions during development, as well as temporary
changes in the characteristics of the body, such as the transient
morphological alterations produced by the usage of tools.

In the robotics community there is an increasing interest in
reproducing similar mechanisms in artificial agents, mainly motivated
by the aim of producing autonomous adaptive systems that can deal with
complexity and uncertainty in human environments. Although promising
results have been achieved in the context of sensorimotor learning and
autonomous generation of body representations, it is still not clear
how such low-level representations can be scaled up to more complex
motor skills and how they can enable the development of cognitive
capabilities.

Recent evidence from behavioural and brain studies suggests that
processes of mental simulations of action-perception loops are likely
to be executed in our brain and are dependent on internal motor
representations. The capability to simulate sensorimotor experience
might represent a key mechanism behind the implementation of further
cognitive skills, such as self-detection, self-other distinction and
imitation. However, empirical investigation on the functioning of
similar processes in the brain and on their implementation in
artificial agents is fragmented.

In this Research Topic, we aim to condensate the latest developments
and ideas on how to implement these skills in robotics. In being
provided with a rich set of actuators and sensors, humanoid robots
provide a perfect test bed for these investigations. Their
characteristics are more easily comparable with ours, thus allowing
for better human-robot interaction in human-designed environments.
We welcome manuscripts that address new paradigms for learning and
integrating multimodal sensorimotor information in artificial agents,
the reuse of the sensorimotor experience for cognitive development and
the further construction of more complex strategies and behaviours
using these concepts. We also welcome interdisciplinary studies from
developmental, cognitive and brain sciences that target similar
topics. Studies are encouraged to provide comprehensive examination of
the topics proposed, with the aim of providing a more coherent
understanding of the key mechanisms behind plasticity in internal body
representations and mental simulation processes for cognitive
development.
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We are looking forward to your submissions!

Best regards,
Guido Schillaci (guido.schillaci at informatik.hu-berlin.de)
Verena V. Hafner (hafner at informatik.hu-berlin.de)
Bruno Lara (bruno.lara at uaem.mx)

Guest Associate Editors,
Frontiers in Robotics and AI, Section: Humanoid Robotics
http://journal.frontiersin.org/researchtopic/3747

-- 
Guido Schillaci, Dr. rer. nat.

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Institut für Informatik - Adaptive Systems Group
Rudower Chaussee 25 , Room 4.120
12489 Berlin - Germany
Phone: +49 30 2093 3937
http://adapt.informatik.hu-berlin.de/schillaci