Embodied spatial cognition: Biological and artificial systems

In this paper, we sketch out a computational theory of spatial cognition motivated by navigational behaviours, ecological requirements, and neural mechanisms as identified in animals and man. Spatial cognition is considered in the context of a cognitive agent built around the action–perception cycle. Besides sensors and effectors, the agent comprises multiple memory structures including a working memory and a longterm memory stage. Spatial longterm memory is modelled along the graph approach, treating recognizable places or poses as nodes and navigational actions as links. Models of working memory and its interaction with reference memory are discussed. The model provides an overall framework of spatial cognition which can be adapted to model different levels of behavioural complexity as well as interactions between working and longterm memory. A number of design questions for building cognitive robots are derived from comparison with biological systems and discussed in the paper.