Ethologically Inspired Robot Behavior Implementation Szilveszter Kovács * , Dávid Vincze * , Márta Gácsi ** Ádám Miklósi ** , Péter Korondi *** * Department of Information Technology, University of Miskolc, Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Miskolc, H-3515, Hungary, e-mail: szkovacs@iit.uni-miskolc.hu, vincze.david@iit.uni-miskolc.hu ** Department of Ethology, Eötvös University, Pázmány P. 1/c, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary e-mail: gm.art@t-online.hu, amiklosi62@gmail.com *** Computer and Automation Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Department of Mechatronics, Optics and Applied Informatics, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, H-1521, Budapest, Po.Box. 91. Hungary, e-mail: korondi@sztaki.hu Abstract—For implementing ethologically inspired robot behavior in this paper a platform based on fuzzy automaton (fuzzy state-machine) is suggested. It can react the human intervention as a function of the robot state and the human action. This platform is suitable for implementing quite complicated action-reaction sequences, like the interaction of human and an animal, e.g. a behavior of an animal companion to the human. The suggested fuzzy model structure built upon the framework of low computational demand Fuzzy Rule Interpolation (FRI) methods and fuzzy automaton. For demonstrating the applicability of the proposed structure, some components of an action-reaction FRI model, will be briefly introduced in this paper. I. INTRODUCTION The design of socially interactive robots has faced many challenges. Despite major advances there are still many obstacles to be solved in order to achieve a natural- like interaction between robots and humans. The “uncanny valley” effect: Mori [18] assumed that the increasing similarity of robots to humans will actually increase the chances that humans refuse interaction (will be frightened from) very human-like agents. Although many take this effect for granted only little actual research was devoted to this issue. Many argue that once an agent passes certain level of similarity, as it is the case in the most recent visual characters in computer graphics, people will treat them just as people [21]. However, in the case of 3D robots, the answer is presently less clear, as up do date technology is very crude in reproducing natural-like behaviour, emotions and verbal interaction. Thus for robotics the uncanny valley effect will present a continuing challenge in the near future. In spite of the huge advances in robotics current socially interactive systems fail both with regard to motor and cognitive capacities, and in most cases can interact only in a very limited way with the human partner. We see this as a major discrepancy that is not easy to solve because there is a big gap between presently available technologies (hardware and software) and the desire for achieving human-like cognitive and motor capacities. As a consequence recent socially interactive robots have only a restricted appeal to humans, and after losing the effect of novelty the interactions break down rapidly. The planning and construction of biologically or psychologically inspired robots depends crucially of the current understanding of human motor and mental processes. However, these are one of the most complex phenomena of life! Thus it is certainly possible that human mental models of abilities like “intention”, “human memory” etc., which serve at present as the underlying concepts for control socially interactive robots, will be proved to be faulty. Because of the goal of mimicking a human, socially interactive robots do not utilize more general human abilities that have evolved as general skills for social interaction. Further, the lack of evolutionary approach in conceptualizing the design of such robots hinders further development, and reinforces that the only goal in robotics should be the produce “as human-like as possible” agents. II. ETHOLOGICALLY INSPIRED BEHAVIOUR MODEL In order to overcome the “uncanny valley” effect, ethologically inspired robot behavior models can be applied. The concept of ethologically inspired robot behavior models allows the study of individual interactions between animals and animals and humans. If one defines robots as mechanical or electronic agents that extend human capacities then the dog (which has been domesticated by humans) represents the first “biological robot” because some time after domestication dogs were utilized as an aid in hunting, animal husbandry, warfare, protection, transport etc [17]. The long-term (for cc 20.000 years) and successful human-dog interaction shows that humans have the ability to develop social interaction with very different agents. The human-dog relationship rests critically on our ability to produce and understand various forms of communicative cues that are emitted in an inter-specific relationship in which the two members’ signaling behavior overlaps only to certain extent. Human behavior evolution has selected for increased ability to form social contact with any creatures which originates in the very social nature of nursing (parental) behavior in humans which is unique in the Primates. Humans also show a preference to use social relationship for joint action in cooperative settings. 978-1-4244-9639-6/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE HSI 2011 Yokohama, Japan, May 19-21, 2011 64