Animat
Encyclopedia
Animats are artificial animal
s, a contraction of anima
-materials. The term includes physical robots and virtual simulations. Animat research, a subset of Artificial Life
studies, has become rather popular since Rodney Brooks
' seminal paper "Intelligence without representation". The word was coined by S.W. Wilson in 1991, in the first proceedings of the Simulation of Adaptive Behaviour, which was also called From Animals to Animats.
An example using the Animat model as proposed by Wilson is discussed at some length in chapter 9 of Stan Franklin
's book, Artificial Minds
. In this implementation, the animat is capable of independent learning about its environment through application and evolution of pattern-matching rules called "taxons".
In 2001 Thomas DeMarse performed studies on 'Neurally controlled animat
'. Every two years, the Society of Adaptive Behaviour meets and produces a proceedings on this topic. They also have a journal, Adaptive Behavior
.
Alan H Goldstein has proposed that, because nanobiotechnology
is in the process of creating real anima
-materials, speculative use of this term should be discouraged and its application become purely phenomenological. Based on the Animat Test (contained in the reference "I, Nanobot.") any nonbiological material or entity that exhibits the minimum set of behaviors that define a life form is, de facto, an Animat. Goldstein's basic premise is that in the age of nanobiotechnology it is necessary to follow the chemistry and molecular engineering rather than watching for the emergence of some pre-conceived minimum level of 'intelligence' such as an artificial neural network capable of adaptive phenomena. Goldstein has cautioned that there is a serious disconnect between the fields of nanobiotechnology
and A-life based on profound differences in scientific training, experimental systems, and the different sets of terminology (jargon) these two fields have produced. Nanobiotechnologists (really molecular engineers who work with both biological and nonbiological molecules) are generally not concerned with complex systems per se; even when they are building molecular interconnects between such systems, e.g. neuroelectronic splices. A-Life researchers mainly take a systems-level approach. The enormous transformative power of novel molecular engineering has the potential to create Animats, true nonbiological life forms, whose relatively simple behavior would not fit into most standard A-Life paradigms. As a result, Goldstein argues, the first Animats may come into being completely unrecognized by either scientific community.
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, a contraction of anima
Anima
Anima may refer to:*the Latin term for the "animating principle", see vitalism**the Latin translation of Greek psyche**in Christian contexts, the soul**see also spirit...
-materials. The term includes physical robots and virtual simulations. Animat research, a subset of Artificial Life
Artificial life
Artificial life is a field of study and an associated art form which examine systems related to life, its processes, and its evolution through simulations using computer models, robotics, and biochemistry. The discipline was named by Christopher Langton, an American computer scientist, in 1986...
studies, has become rather popular since Rodney Brooks
Rodney Brooks
Rodney Allen Brooks is the former Panasonic professor of robotics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 1986 he has authored a series of highly influential papers which have inaugurated a fundamental shift in artificial intelligence research...
' seminal paper "Intelligence without representation". The word was coined by S.W. Wilson in 1991, in the first proceedings of the Simulation of Adaptive Behaviour, which was also called From Animals to Animats.
An example using the Animat model as proposed by Wilson is discussed at some length in chapter 9 of Stan Franklin
Stan Franklin
Stan Franklin is an American scientist and W. Harry Feinstone Interdisciplinary Research Professor at the and co-director of the Institute of Intelligent Systems. He is the author of Artificial Minds and mental father of IDA and its successor LIDA, both computational implementations of...
's book, Artificial Minds
Artificial Minds
Artificial Minds is a book written by Stan Franklin and published in 1995 by MIT Press.The book is a wide-ranging tour of the development of artificial intelligence as of the time it was written...
. In this implementation, the animat is capable of independent learning about its environment through application and evolution of pattern-matching rules called "taxons".
In 2001 Thomas DeMarse performed studies on 'Neurally controlled animat
Neurally controlled animat
A Neurally Controlled Animat is the conjunction of#a cultured neuronal network#a virtual body, the Animat, "living" in a virtual computer generated environment, connected to this array...
'. Every two years, the Society of Adaptive Behaviour meets and produces a proceedings on this topic. They also have a journal, Adaptive Behavior
Adaptive behavior
Adaptive behavior is a type of behavior that is used to adjust to another type of behavior or situation. This is often characterized by a kind of behavior that allows an individual to change an unconstructive or disruptive behavior to something more constructive. These behaviors are most often...
.
Alan H Goldstein has proposed that, because nanobiotechnology
Nanobiotechnology
Bionanotechnology, nanobiotechnology, and nanobiology are terms that refer to the intersection of nanotechnology and biology. Given that the subject is one that has only emerged very recently, bionanotechnology and nanobiotechnology serve as blanket terms for various related technologies.This...
is in the process of creating real anima
Anima
Anima may refer to:*the Latin term for the "animating principle", see vitalism**the Latin translation of Greek psyche**in Christian contexts, the soul**see also spirit...
-materials, speculative use of this term should be discouraged and its application become purely phenomenological. Based on the Animat Test (contained in the reference "I, Nanobot.") any nonbiological material or entity that exhibits the minimum set of behaviors that define a life form is, de facto, an Animat. Goldstein's basic premise is that in the age of nanobiotechnology it is necessary to follow the chemistry and molecular engineering rather than watching for the emergence of some pre-conceived minimum level of 'intelligence' such as an artificial neural network capable of adaptive phenomena. Goldstein has cautioned that there is a serious disconnect between the fields of nanobiotechnology
Nanobiotechnology
Bionanotechnology, nanobiotechnology, and nanobiology are terms that refer to the intersection of nanotechnology and biology. Given that the subject is one that has only emerged very recently, bionanotechnology and nanobiotechnology serve as blanket terms for various related technologies.This...
and A-life based on profound differences in scientific training, experimental systems, and the different sets of terminology (jargon) these two fields have produced. Nanobiotechnologists (really molecular engineers who work with both biological and nonbiological molecules) are generally not concerned with complex systems per se; even when they are building molecular interconnects between such systems, e.g. neuroelectronic splices. A-Life researchers mainly take a systems-level approach. The enormous transformative power of novel molecular engineering has the potential to create Animats, true nonbiological life forms, whose relatively simple behavior would not fit into most standard A-Life paradigms. As a result, Goldstein argues, the first Animats may come into being completely unrecognized by either scientific community.
Further reading
- S. W. Wilson. The animat path to AI. In J.-A. Meyer and S. Wilson, editors, From Animals to Animats, pages 15–21. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991.
- Thomas DeMarse work: http://www.bme.ufl.edu/documents/the_neurally_10.pdf
- Alan H. Goldstein. "I, Nanobot." Salon.com, March 9 2006. http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2006/03/09/nanobiobot/index.html
External links
- The AnimatLab of Laboratoire d'Informatique de Paris 6 (Lip6), headed by Jean-Arcady Meyer
- International Society for Adaptive Behavior
- http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~dt/animat-vision
- http://www.neuro.gatech.edu/groups/potter/research.html