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Focused Review ARTICLE

Framework and implications of virtual neurorobotics

Philip H. Goodman^1,2*, Quan Zou¹ and Sergiu-Mihai Dascalu²

Department of Medicine and Program in Biomedical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, USA

Despite decades of societal investment in artificial learning systems, truly "intelligent" systems have yet to be realized. These traditional models are based on input-output pattern optimization and/or cognitive production rule modeling. One response has been social robotics, using the interaction of human and robot to capture important cognitive dynamics such as cooperation and emotion; to date, these systems still incorporate traditional learning algorithms. More recently, investigators are focusing on the core assumptions of the brain "algorithm" itself–trying to replicate uniquely "neuromorphic" dynamics such as action potential spiking and synaptic learning. Only now are large-scale neuromorphic models becoming feasible, due to the availability of powerful supercomputers and an expanding supply of parameters derived from research into the brain’s interdependent electrophysiological, metabolomic and genomic networks. Personal computer technology has also led to the acceptance of computer-generated humanoid images, or "avatars", to represent intelligent actors in virtual realities. In a recent paper, we proposed a method of virtual neurorobotics (VNR) in which the approaches above (social-emotional robotics, neuromorphic brain architectures, and virtual reality projection) are hybridized to rapidly forward-engineer and develop increasingly complex, intrinsically intelligent systems. In this paper, we synthesize our research and related work in the field and provide a framework for VNR, with wider implications for research and practical applications.

Keywords:

neurorobotics, human-robot interface, virtual reality, artifi cial intelligence, social robotics, epigenetic robotics, reinforcement

Citation:

Goodman PH, Zou Q and Dascalu S-M (2008). Framework and implications of virtual neurorobotics. Front. Neurosci. 2,1: 123-128. doi: 10.3389/neuro.01.007.2008

Received:

10 April 2008;

Paper pending published:

04 June 2008;

Accepted:

04 June 2008;

Published online:

15 July 2008.

Edited by:

Frederic Kaplan, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland

Reviewed by:

Felix Schürmann, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland
Angelo Cangelosi, University of Plymouth, UK

© 2008 Goodman, Zou and Dascalu. This is an open-access article subject to an exclusive license agreement between the authors and the Frontiers Research Foundation, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.

*Correspondence:

Philip H. Goodman, Department of Medicine and Program in Biomedical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, USA. e-mail: goodman@unr.edu