Feedback mechanisms in animal behaviour

McFarland, David

Academic Press

Artificial ethology is an exciting new field of research that explores the ways that we can use robots and robotics to enhance our understanding of how real animals behave. Modelling and computer simulations combined with empirical research are the traditional tools of animal behavior. This new text sets out to show how experimentation with animal-like robots can add a new dimension to our understanding of behavioral questions. Introductory chapters explain the history of the use of models in animal behavior, and describe how animal like mobile robots 'evolved' during the development of the discipline. Then thematic chapters scrutinize sensory processes and orientation, motor co-ordination, and motivation and learning in turn. Each thematic exploration is exemplified by a series of case studies, written by some of the leading researchers in artificial ethology. From robotic lobsters to robot crickets and robot 'sheepdogs', each of these case studies give a detailed description of a particular problem, research approach, and robot application. The examples bring the text to life, and will enable students to get an in- depth picture of the potential and the practicalities of this research. The text concludes with a discussion of general points arising from the use of robots in biological research, and the rationale for using real robots as opposed to simulation. Aimed at advanced students taking courses in animal behavior, the text should also be of interest to computer scientists and engineers interested in robotics, artificial intelligence, and the study of biological systems.

Artificial Ethology

Computers & Technology

Holland, Owen

Computer Science

Oxford University Press

Modelling and computer simulations combined with empirical research are the traditional tools for the study of animal behavior. This exciting new book sets out to show how artificial ethology, or experimentation with animal-like robots, can add a new dimension to our understanding of behavioral questions. Thematic chapters scrutinizing major areas of research in animal behavior follow introductory chapters to modelling and robotics. Each thematic exploration is illustrated with case studies written by leading researchers in the field. From robotic lobsters to robotic 'monkeys', each case study brings the text to life, and gives a detailed description of a problem, approach, and robot application. This is a comprehensive introduction to the application of robotics in animal behavior and physiology.

This fascinating dictionary covers all aspects of animal behavior. Written by David McFarland, an established expert in this field, the book contains terms from the related fields of ecology, physiology and psychology. Entries of each animal behavior is complimented by examples where applicable and are cross-referenced. In addition, the book is jargon free, making it and accessible for both professionals and general readers. Clear, concise, comprehensive, and informative, the Dictionary of Animal Behavior is an excellent source of reference for naturalists, bird-watchers, and animal enthusiasts everywhere, and essential reading for students of biology and psychology

Dictionary of Animal Behaviour (Oxford Quick Reference)

Reference

Dictionaries & Thesauruses

Guilty Robots, Happy Dogs: The Question of Alien Minds

When we interact with animals, we intuitively read thoughts and feelings into their expressions and actions. It is easy--often irresistible--to suppose that they have minds like ours. And as technology grows more sophisticated, we might soon find ourselves interpreting the behavior even of robots in human terms. But is our natural tendency to humanize other beings philosophically or scientifically justifiable? Can we ever know what non-human minds are really like? How different are human minds from the minds of animals or robots? In Guilty Robots and Happy Dogs, David McFarland offers an accessible exploration of these and many other intriguing questions, questions that illuminate our understanding the human mind and its limits in knowing and imagining other minds. In exploring these issues, McFarland looks not only at philosophy, but also examines new evidence from the science of animal behavior, plus the latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence, to show how many different--and often quite surprising--conclusions we can draw about the nature of minds "alien" to our own. Can robots ever feel guilty? Can dogs feel happy? Answering these questions is not simply an abstract exercise but has real implications for such increasingly relevant topics as animal welfare, artificial intelligence, and cybernetics. Engagingly and accessibly written, and thought-provoking from start to finish, Guilty Robots and Happy Dogs touches on the very nature of mind and its evolution. It is essential reading for anyone curious about animal behavior, robotics, artificial intelligence, or the nature of the human mind.

Combining the study of animal minds, artificial minds, and human evolution, this book examine the advances made by comparative psychologists in explaining the intelligent behaviour of primates, the design of artificial autonomous systems and the cognitive products of language evolution.

The Complex Mind: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Politics & Social Sciences

Stenning, Keith

McGonigle, Maggie

Philosophy

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Intelligence takes many forms. This exciting study explores the novel insight, based on well-established ethological principles, that animals, humans, and autonomous robots can all be analyzed as multi-task autonomous control systems. Biological adaptive systems, the authors argue, can in fact provide a better understanding of intelligence and rationality than that provided by traditional AI.
In this technically sophisticated, clearly written investigation of robot-animal analogies, McFarland and Bösser show that a bee's accuracy in navigating on a cloudy day and a moth's simple but effective hearing mechanisms have as much to teach us about intelligent behavior as human models. In defining intelligent behavior, what matters is the behavioral outcome, not the nature of the mechanism by which the outcome is achieved. Similarly, in designing robots capable of intelligent behavior, what matters is the behavioral outcome.
McFarland and Bösser address the problem of how to assess the consequences of robot behavior in a way that is meaningful in terms of the robot's intended role, comparing animal and robot in relation to rational behavior, goal seeking, task accomplishment, learning, and other important theoretical issues.

Intelligent Behavior in Animals and Robots (Complex Adaptive Systems)

Bösser, Tom

Bradford Books

Quantitative Ethology: The State Space Approach

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

Pitman Advanced Pub. Program

Problems of Animal Behavior

Longman Sc & Tech

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Books by McFarland, David