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  • © 2012

The Playful Machine

Theoretical Foundation and Practical Realization of Self-Organizing Robots

  • This work opens a new field of research
  • The reader learns everything about the self-organization of behavior in robots that is known today
  • A simulation software enables the reader to make immediately contact with the applications and provides the him with the tools to start developing its own variations and ideas quickly
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Cognitive Systems Monographs (COSMOS, volume 15)

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Table of contents (17 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

  2. Introduction

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 1-8
  3. Self-Organization in Nature and Machines

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 9-21
  4. The Sensorimotor Loop

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 23-58
  5. Principles of Self-Regulation — Homeostasis

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 59-74
  6. A General Approach to Self-Organization — Homeokinesis

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 75-106
  7. From Fixed-Point Flows to Hysteresis Oscillators

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 107-125
  8. Symmetries, Resonances, and Second Order Hysteresis

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 127-151
  9. Low Dimensional Robotic Systems

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 153-182
  10. Model Learning

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 183-200
  11. High-Dimensional Robotic Systems

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 201-221
  12. Facing the Unknown — Homeokinesis in a New Representation

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 223-234
  13. Guided Self-Organization — A First Realization

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 235-242
  14. Channeling Self-Organization

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 243-252
  15. Reward-Driven Self-Organization

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 253-259
  16. Algorithmic Implementation

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 261-291
  17. The LpzRobots Simulator

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 293-308
  18. Discussion and Perspectives

    • Ralf Der, Georg Martius
    Pages 309-312
  19. Back Matter

About this book

Autonomous robots may become our closest companions in the near future. While the technology for physically building such machines is already available today, a problem lies in the generation of the behavior for such complex machines. Nature proposes a solution: young children and higher animals learn to master their complex brain-body systems by playing. Can this be an option for robots? How can a machine be playful? The book provides answers by developing a general principle---homeokinesis, the dynamical symbiosis between brain, body, and environment---that is shown to drive robots to self- determined, individual development in a playful and obviously embodiment- related way: a dog-like robot starts playing with a barrier, eventually jumping or climbing over it; a snakebot develops coiling and jumping modes; humanoids develop climbing behaviors when fallen into a pit, or engage in wrestling-like scenarios when encountering an opponent. The book also develops guided self-organization, a new method that helps to make the playful machines fit for fulfilling tasks in the real world.

The book provides two levels of presentation. Students and scientific researchers interested in the field of robotics, self-organization and dynamical systems theory may be satisfied by the in-depth mathematical analysis of the principle, the bootstrapping scenarios, and the emerging behaviors. But the book additionally comes with a robotics simulator inviting also the non- scientific reader to simply enjoy the fabulous world of playful machines by performing the numerous experiments.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“Stressed on robots, the book presents the new tendencies of self-evaluation, self-organization and control of different type of technical systems, including the cognitive control theory as a new control language. The book is intended for students and researchers interested in self-organization on both the practical and theoretical level. … The book can be also a source for courses, which can be part of the academic program of electrical, control and computer science departments.” (Clementina Mladenova, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1243, 2012)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Max-Planck-Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

    Ralf Der, Georg Martius

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Playful Machine

  • Book Subtitle: Theoretical Foundation and Practical Realization of Self-Organizing Robots

  • Authors: Ralf Der, Georg Martius

  • Series Title: Cognitive Systems Monographs

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20253-7

  • Publisher: Springer Berlin, Heidelberg

  • eBook Packages: Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-642-20252-0Published: 28 February 2012

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-662-50633-2Published: 23 August 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-642-20253-7Published: 11 January 2012

  • Series ISSN: 1867-4925

  • Series E-ISSN: 1867-4933

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XX, 335

  • Topics: Applications of Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access