From modeling to implementing the perception loop in self-conscious systems

Engineering self-conscious robotic systems is a challenging issue because of the intrinsic complexity of such systems; a self-conscious robot has to acquire knowledge, to understand its world and to autonomously interact with its environment. In this paper, the externalist point of view is used for developing a complete process for the design and implementation of a conscious robotic system that is able to interact with a dynamic environment in a human-like fashion without possessing detailed knowledge about the environment and pre-programmed tasks and algorithms. The paper mainly focuses on the configuration part of the whole process that make the robot able to decide and to learn from experiences. © 2010 World Scientific Publishing Company.