Creation of a Conscious Robot: Mirror Image Cognition and Self-Awareness

Present-day computers lack well-defined functions to accept various kinds of sensual information such as vision, hearing and smelling (binding problem). Computers also lack any well-defined mechanisms to coordinate various behaviors in the presence of an object (conscious mechanism). This book serves as a breakthrough that opens a new world. Using the ideas presented in the book, computer systems can be developed to conduct conscious activities like human beings. Human beings will be able to develop mechanisms in which machines will have their own feelings, will behave according to their own consciousness, and will continue to learn for their betterment.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. Story of Robots. Story of the Human Brain. Human Consciousness and the Mind. Prof. Braitenberg’s Vehicles. Prof. Brooks’ Robots. Artificial Neural Networks and Machine Evolution. Machine Consciousness. New Architecture of Robot Consciousness and the Robot Mind. Physical Demonstration of Successful Mirror Image Cognition by a Robot. Observations on Self-awareness. Conclusions.

Review :
"This paradigm-changing book comes at the right time, when new emergent challenges in artificial intelligence, neuroscience, cognitive science and consciousness studies call for a joint effort of the four disciplines, all adequately covered here at a level accessible to general public. The book will be particularly inspiring for young readers." —Prof. Alexei V. Samsonovich - Biologically Inspired Cognitive Architectures "This innovative book bridges the gap between engineering and psychology. Experiments with biologically inspired robots give us a key to understanding even human brain functions. Basic loops connected to a common area define the dynamics of self-awareness—an excellent approach, I believe." —Prof. Juergen Manner - Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany "A unique book that offers not only theoretical work on the creation of a conscious machine but also practical demonstration that is successfully implemented on a physical robot. It presents various works on machine consciousness, self-awareness, and robot consciousness architecture. This is a very interesting book, especially for scientists and students who are exploring the field of machine consciousness." —Prof. Rony Novianto - University of Technology, Sydney, Australia "This book undoubtedly is not just another monograph devoted to one of the traditional branches of artificial intelligence. The key challenges raised in it, such as the disclosure of consciousness and self-awareness mechanisms, formation of emotions and feelings on the basis of reasoning, and consistency of cognition and behavior, have found in the book their original and evidential interpretation, based both on the detailed analysis of the classic representations of philosophy, psychology, and the theory of cognition and on the constructive ideas proposed by the author. An indubitable advantage of the material presented is not only its deep methodological and theoretical foundation but also its successful practical testing, including the impressive results of mirror image recognition by the intelligent mobile robot. The text will be interesting and immensely useful to a broad readership, ranging from students to eminent scientists working on the problems of creating the new artificial intelligence and, in the near future, the artificial brain." —Prof. Vladimir Vasilyev - Ufa State Aviation Technical University, Russia "I am sure that the ideas presented in this remarkable book accelerate the emergence of the artificial intelligence that people will use. This intelligence will be able to grow and improve itself as a good friend of natural intelligence, because it will have its own senses, means of communication, and a sense of the "self," which every human being has." —Prof. Kulakov Felix - Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia