Rodney Brooks and Bottom-Up Robots

These robots do not operate by executing algorithms to map their surroundings and so on, but rather with a set of relatively simple stimulus-response mechanisms. Their intelligence aggregates from the bottom up, rather than being organized explicitly from the top down.
Originally presented on the Discovery Channel; video no longer available for purchase.

[@orbismworldbuilding8428]

He talks about and interacts with the robot babydoll so lovingly, its really sweet

[@rbolo29]

I watched this on Discovery Channel in the mid 1990's and that's how I heard of Rodney Brooks@MIT. He was building walking insects out of nothing more than transistors.

[@herrhendrik]

Which year are we talking about here?

[@bhimashankarnatikar4237]

Great to learn

[@yankumar5280]

thanks for sharing Deedlydeedee

[@modvs1]

As far as one can tell, one Brook’s main aims was to oppose ‘GOFAI representationalism’ with his robotics (subsumption architecture). To what extent am I wrong in thinking that this is haemorrhaging massive amounts of irony? Given the obvious- that the robot(s) themselves are merely a ‘representation’ or ‘simulation’ of ecologically sensitive behaviour. If I were to produce a photo-realistic sketch of someone, then proceeded to argue that you can have ‘a person’ without the need of a respiratory/digestive/lymphatic/CNS/etc., system- you’d think I was joking, right?

[@CosmiaNebula]

If you think of a robot body itself as a representation of behaviors, then GOFAI robots would have TWO representations: one in the physics of the whole body, another in the code in its CPU.

[@orbismworldbuilding8428]

I think it can be atleast superficially equivalent or analogous. Doesn't have to be one to one, its more about how biological principles can further robotics technology than it is making something identical to traditional organic life
Plus i think thinking in these broader more analogy or equivalence terms might help should we ever discover alien life, which might function fairly differently or have very different needs and drives.
Your perspective is really interesting though, that these robotic systems are more a picture of an insect than an insect, that they're more a picture of an organism than an organism. Very interesting way to see and explain it

[@jjohnson71958]

i had the robots rising episode on vhs tape