Hardware or software architecture adapted to develop conditioned reflexes

• US 6,490,570 B1
• Filed: 08/27/1998
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Numaoka, Chisato
• Primary Examiner(s): STARKS, WILBERT L
• Application Number:
  US09/141,453
• Time in Patent Office: 1,559 Days
• Field of Search: 706/14, 706/13, 706/15
• US Class Current: 706/14
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/004 Artificial life, i.e. computing arrangements simulating life
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/043 Distributed expert systems; Blackboards

Abstract

An architecture, which may be embodied in hardware, software or a combination of the two, is adapted to develop reflexes conditioned based on influences external to the architecture (such as user activity) in order to optimize the fulfillment of operational requirements of application modules in the architecture. The architecture includes, in addition to one or more application modules, modulation modules involved in the regulation of the functions performed by the application modules, a central regulator for registering the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement in an application module and for controlling the modulation modules to seek a solution by a strategy including the external indication of a “need” condition via output modules. This manifestation is detected by the architecture itself via input modules, which also detect external phenomena indicating the activity of a user or external agent. An external event or input leads to satisfaction of the operational requirement. A conditioning system receiving inputs from the application modules, modulation modules, central regulator and input and output modules generates, on the basis of conditioning received through past experience, a signal indicating the expectation of satisfaction of the operational requirement. The operation of the architecture responds to the value of this expectation signal.

Claims

1. System for developing reflexes conditioned by experience, and modifying the operation of said system based upon said reflexes comprising:

at least one application module determining when an operational requirement is not satisfied, said at least one operational module outputting a signal indicative of a need condition when it is determined that said operational requirement is not satisfied;

a regulatory unit receiving said signal indicative of a need condition and producing a control signal indicating to an external agent or user the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement;

input means for detecting an input or event from an external source, said input or event satisfying an operational requirement of said at least one application module;

a conditioning unit receiving signals indicative of the existence of unsatisfied operational requirements in one or more of said at least one application module of said system, signals indicative of the existence of the unsatisfied operational requirement, signals indicative of the detection of inputs or events satisfying an unsatisfied operational requirement, said conditioning unit generating a signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of a present unsatisfied operational requirement based on values of said received signals for previous unsatisfied operational requirements; and

a detection system including one or more sensors for discriminating phenomena indicative of the activity of an agent or user external to the system, said sensors supplying to the conditioning unit a signal indicative of the discriminated phenomena, wherein the conditioning unit establishes a correlation between the signal indicative of the discriminated phenomena and the detection or non-detection of inputs or events satisfying an unsatisfied operational requirement, and modifying the signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of a present unsatisfied operational requirement in dependence upon the established correlation,

wherein at least one unit in the system modifies its operation as a function of the value of said signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of said present unsatisfied operational requirement.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein when the signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of a present unsatisfied operational requirement indicates a high degree of probability of satisfaction of the unsatisfied operational requirement, the regulatory unit changes the indication of the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein a conditioning of the conditioning unit is selectively inhibited by an output from the regulatory unit.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the conditioning unit comprises a neural network.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein upon reception of a signal indicative of a need condition the regulatory unit selects one of a plurality of different indications of the existence of the unsatisfied operational requirement, and the conditioning unit correlates the produced indication with the detection or non-detection of an input or event from an external source satisfying said unsatisfied operational requirement by the input means whereby to identify the indication which is correlated with the highest probability of satisfaction of the unsatisfied operational requirement.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of different inputs or events can lead to at least partial satisfaction of the unsatisfied operational requirement, and the conditioning unit correlates detected inputs or events with a corresponding detected degree of satisfaction of the unsatisfied operational requirement whereby to identify the optimal input or event which best satisfies said operational requirement, and to determine the indication which is correlated with the highest probability of detecting the optimal input or event for satisfying an unsatisfied operational requirement.

7. System for developing reflexes conditioned by experience, and modifying the operation of said system based upon said reflexes comprising:

at least one application module determining when an operational requirement is not satisfied, said at least one operational module outputting a signal indicative of a need condition when it is determined that said operational requirement is not satisfied;

a regulatory unit receiving said signal indicative of a need condition and producing a control signal indicating to an external agent or user the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement;

input means for detecting an input or event from an external source, said input or event satisfying an operational requirement of said at least one application module;

a conditioning unit receiving signals indicative of the existence of unsatisfied operational requirements in one or more of said at least one application module of said system, signals indicative of the existence of the unsatisfied operational requirement, signals indicative of the detection of inputs or events satisfying an unsatisfied operational requirement, said conditioning unit generating a signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of a present unsatisfied operational requirement based on values of said received signals for previous unsatisfied operational requirements; and

wherein upon detection by said one or more sensors of the indication of an unsatisfied operational requirement resembling an indication for which the conditioning unit has established a correlation with an unsatisfied operational requirement, at a time when said operational requirement is satisfied in the system, it is determined at the conditioning unit that the detected indication of an unsatisfied operational requirement indicates the existence of an external agent experiencing the corresponding unsatisfied operational requirement;

wherein at least one unit in the system modifies its operation as a function of the value of said signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of said present unsatisfied operational requirement.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein upon determination by the conditioning unit that a detected indication of an unsatisfied operational requirement indicates the existence of an external agent experiencing a particular unsatisfied operational requirement, the regulatory unit generates a control signal producing a corresponding indication as if the particular unsatisfied operational requirement were being experienced by the system.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein when the signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of a present unsatisfied operational requirement indicates a high degree of probability of satisfaction of the unsatisfied operational requirement, the regulatory unit changes the indication of the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement.

10. The system according to claim 7, wherein upon reception of a signal indicative of a need condition the regulatory unit selects one of a plurality of different indications of the existence of the unsatisfied operational requirement, and the conditioning unit correlates the produced indication with the detection or non-detection of an input or event from an external source satisfying said unsatisfied operational requirement by the input means whereby to identify the indication which is correlated with the highest probability of satisfaction of the unsatisfied operational requirement.

11. System for eveloping reflexes conditioned by experience, and modifying the operation of said system based upon said reflexes comprising:

at least one application module determining when an operational requirement is not satisfied, said at least one operational module outputting a signal indicative of a need condition when it is determined that said operational requirement is not satisfied;

a regulatory unit receiving said signal indicative of a need condition and producing a control signal indicating to an external agent or user the existence of an unsatisfied operational requirement;

input means for detecting an input or event from an external source, said input or event satisfying an operational requirement of said at least one application module;

a conditioning unit receiving signals indicative of the existence of unsatisfied operational requirements in one or more of said at least one application module of said system, signals indicative of the existence of the unsatisfied operational requirement, signals indicative of the detection of inputs or events satisfying an unsatisfied operational requirement, said conditioning unit generating a signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of a present unsatisfied operational requirement based on values of said received signals for previous unsatisfied operational requirements; and

output means for producing an audio or visual output perceptible to external agents or users in response to the control signal produced by the regulator unit;

wherein at least one unit in the system modifies its operation as a function of the value of said signal indicating the probability of satisfaction of said present unsatisfied operational requirement.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein the output means produces an audio or visual output mimicking a human or animal expression of distress or need.