Swing it to the left, swing it to the right: enacting flexible spatial language using a neurodynamic framework

Abstract

Research is continually expanding the empirical and theoretical picture of embodiment and dynamics in language. To date, however, a formalized neural dynamic framework for embodied linguistic processes has yet to emerge. To advance embodied theories of language, the present work develops a formalized neural dynamic framework of spatial language that explicitly integrates linguistic processes and dynamic sensory-motor systems. We then implement and test our spatial language architecture on a robotic platform continuously linked to real-time camera input. In a suite of tasks using everyday objects we demonstrate the framework's capacity for both contextuallydependent behavioral flexibility and the seamless integration of spatial, non-spatial, and symbolic representations. To our knowledge this is the first unified, neurally-grounded architecture integrating these processes and behaviors.

Eye movement dynamics and cognitive self-organization in typical and atypical development

“…Rather than being locked away in the brain, cognition appears to exhibit rampant sensitivity to effects of bodily movement, perceptual exploration, and subtle changes in context (Smith 2005;Chiel and Beer 1997;Turvey and Fitzpatrick 1993;Barsalou 2008;Lipinski et al 2009). Further, cognition appears to run on a coordination of events at various grain sizes across the body.…”

NARLE: Neurocognitive architecture for the autonomous task recognition, learning, and execution

“…Each object is processed in a sequence in accordance with the DNF scene representation architecture (Zibner, Faubel, Iossifidis et al, 2011). The spatial relations architecture, developed in the DNF framework (Lipinski, Sandamirskaya, & Schöner, 2009;Lipinski, Schneegans, Sandamirskaya, Spencer, & Schöner, 2012;Richter, Lins, Schneegans, Sandamirskaya, & Schöner, 2014) is used to represent the spatial arrangement of objects in the scene relative to each other. Fig.…”

“…For the known object the memory trace is retrieved. A spatial language system (Lipinski et al, 2009(Lipinski et al, , 2012Richter et al, 2014) is used to extract and represent the arrangement of objects relative to each other (the spatial relations between them). According to the size or salience one of the objects is selected to be the reference and the spatial relations of other objects are represented relative to this reference.…”

Timed trajectory generation for a toy-like wheeled robot

“…[11] proposed an online adaptation rule for the Hopf radius which was able to guarantee that the remaining distance is traversed within the remaining time.…”

“…The framework proposed in [10] extends the attractor dynamics approach of behavior generation to the timing domain and is applied in [9] to an autonomous vehicle. However, [11] argues that the included temporal stabilization mechanism does not guarantee invariant movement time, and propose some changes including: (1) to use the dynamic solution to directly control the robot's velocity; (2) to use a full oscillator cycle; and (3) propose an adaptive rule that theoretically warrants invariant movement time.…”