UC Berkeley

We demonstrate the operation of the SODAS approach (Self-organized Ontogenetic Development of Autonomous Systems) for on-line processing of sensory inputs and onboard dynamic behavior tasking using SRR2K (Sample Return Rover) platform at the Planetary Robotics indoor facility of JPL. SODAS employs a biologically inspired dynamic neural network architecture operating on the principle of chaotic neural dynamics manifesting intentionality in the style of brains. Intentional behavior includes the cyclic operation of prediction, testing by action, sensing, perceiving, and assimilating the learned features. The experiments illustrate robust obstacle avoidance combined with goal-oriented navigation by the SRR2K robot.