Robot Behavior

Most robots are built to perform specific, repetitive behaviors for humans. A long-term goal of robotics that better captures the imagination, however, is the development and construction of robots that produce an unconstrained array of behaviors in response to often subtle interactions with people and the environment. Scientists developing these sorts of robots often look to animal behavior as an inspiration for the design and implementation of robotic behavior. Another category of less widely known biomimetic robots are those that are built to test specific hypotheses concerning the mechanisms and control of animal behavior. These robots are the nexus of scientific discovery for biologists and engineers: robotic implementation of animal behavior permits a new level of quantitative analysis for biologists and provides new strategies and approaches for engineers.