June 25, 2012 14:20 PSP Book - 9in x 6in 10-Junichi-Takeno-c10
Chapter 10
Physical Demonstration of Successful
Mirror Image Cognition by a Robot
Humans can be aware of their images reflected in a mirror, but the
relevant mechanism — the reason why they can — has never been
described physically and mathematically and still remains a mystery.
The author has developed a computer program and conducted
experiments to achieve awareness in a robot.
Three experiments have been conducted:
(1) A robot imitates the image of itself reflected in a mirror.
(2) A robot imitates another robot of the same type that is made
tobehaveinthesamewayasthefirstrobot.
(3) Two identical robots with the same functions were placed
face to face to imitate each other.
The coincidence of the behavior between the self and the other
is calculated in each experiment. The coincidence in Experiment 1
(mirror image test) is always higher than that observed in
Experiment 2 (ordered behavior test). In Experiment 2, the other
robot that is controlled by the self robot can be regarded as part
of the self robot, like a limb in the case of a human. From these
experiments, one can say that the image in the mirror is an existence
Creation of a Conscious Robot: Mirror Image Cognition and Self-Awareness
Junichi Takeno
Copyright
c
2013 Pan Stanford Publishing Pte. Ltd.
ISBN 978-981-4364-49-2 (Hardcover), 978-981-4364-50-8 (eBook)
www.panstanford.com
June 25, 2012 14:20 PSP Book - 9in x 6in 10-Junichi-Takeno-c10
204 Physical Demonstration of Successful Mirror Image Cognition by a Robot
that is closer to the self than a part of the self is, i.e., it is none other
than the self, and the self is controlling the mirror image. These were
the first experiments to physically describe mirror image cognition,
and we achieved a 100% rate of success in mirror image cognition
with a robot.
This chapter contains detailed logical and physical descriptions
of how this result was attained. It also includes observations and
prospects derived from the experiments.
10.1 Introduction
Humans can easily identify their images reflected in a mirror despite
the fact that since birth no one has ever seen his or her own face
directly. This is strange. Humans say, “I know my face by looking at it
in a mirror.” However, this does not solve the problem. Humans are
also said to become aware of their own images reflected in a mirror
when they are about two years old (Amsterdam, 1972).
G. Gallup, Jr., proposed a mirror test to evaluate such awareness
(Gallup, 1970). So far, chimpanzees, orangutans, dolphins, Indian
elephants, and magpies have passed the mirror test.
Jacques Lacan, a French psychoanalyst and philosopher, an-
nounced his mirror stage hypothesis, in which he cited the mirror
test as an essential milestone in human growth and development
(Lacan, 1982).
Becoming aware of one’s self image in a mirror is said to suggest
the existence of self-consciousness because humans put on makeup
and dress themselves in front of a mirror. An explanation of this
becoming aware of one’s self image in a mirror might possibly lead
to a solution of the problem of consciousness.
When we refer to consciousness, we immediately run into a
difficult problem. There are groups on two sides: those who do not
acknowledge the existence of consciousness and those who do. The
former group generally includes scientists on the engineering side,
whereas the latter consists of scientists on the physical side. This
split is due to a lack of a clear description of the phenomena, i.e., a
definition, of consciousness.
June 25, 2012 14:20 PSP Book - 9in x 6in 10-Junichi-Takeno-c10
Introduction 205
The extremists in the former group believe that consciousness is
a subjective phenomenon and cannot be described mathematically,
and therefore its existence is not acknowledged. Other researchers
in the same group also do not acknowledge the existence of
consciousness but assume the existence of various functions of
recognition, which are integrally combined to form something new,
which they call “emergence.” For them, consciousness is simply a
phantom or an illusion.
The researchers belonging to the latter group acknowledge the
existence of consciousness in humans and try to locate it in the
structure of the human brain.
Given these circumstances, the effort to discover the scheme of
recognizing one’s self image in a mirror as a clue to solving the
problem of consciousness may well bring on furious arguments
between both sides.
The author decided to challenge this task in a way not attempted
much by researchers in the past. I decided to define consciousness
physically and mathematically by checking research studies on con-
sciousness published in the past. The reason why such an approach
had seldom been used in the past is a persistent spiritual resistance
to any attempt to describe human consciousness physically and
mathematically. This arises from the firm belief that humans are
different from machines. Perhaps the remote possibility of actually
attaining the aim may be another reason. It is generally believed that
a definition of personal consciousness is far from a universal truth.
If the attempt to define consciousness concretely, both physically
and mathematically, is postponed at all times, we cannot take even
the first step toward our goal of understanding the mechanism of
human consciousness. It may be one way of research to expect
“emergent” phenomena resembling consciousness by combining
various functions of recognition. In the field of brain science, a
variety of knowledge may be obtained to prove the repetitive
reactions between the brain and the body. Even in these cases, we
will still be confronted, eventually, with the difficult problem of
defining consciousness. Although we have not yet found a clear-cut
and universally acceptable definition of consciousness, we should
never give up answering the question, “What is consciousness?”
I believe the process I am going to use is an important scientific
technique for understanding human consciousness.
June 25, 2012 14:20 PSP Book - 9in x 6in 10-Junichi-Takeno-c10
206 Physical Demonstration of Successful Mirror Image Cognition by a Robot
Why should we hasten in our efforts to understand human
consciousness?
It is naturally great to enjoy the fruits of understanding human
consciousness or the mechanism of thought or behavior. I would like
to emphasize the following three merits in particular:
1. The contribution to the understanding and discovery of treat-
ment methods for brain diseases, including schizophrenia
2. The development of a means of recovery after the loss of
consciousness caused by accidents
3. The development of artificial limbs devised to feel like a
person’s original limbs for those who have lost limbs in
accidents and due to other causes.
I mounted a computer program on an existing small robot. The
program was written using architecture developed based on my
subjective definition of consciousness. The architecture uses a top-
down design based on my original ideas, but the program itself runs
using a bottom-up approach. The program not only drives the robot
to physically demonstrate mirror image cognition but also describes
most of the items related to consciousness that are known today
(Takeno et al., 2005).
The author’s robot imitates the behavior of another robot
placed in front of it according to the built-in program and
calculates the rate of coincidence of behaviors between the
self and the other. The three important experiments conducted
with the robot fully and physically describe the problem of
mirror image cognition. This is the meaning of what was de-
scribed as a 100% successful experiment. The experiment was
successfully conducted on September 1, 2004 (Takeno, 2005).
The experiment was introduced on the online version of the
Discovery Channel 1 TV, the United States, on December 21,
2005 (http://www.rs.cs.meiji.ac.jp/Takeno
Archive/Discovery
NewsAwareRobot211205.pdf; http://www.rs.cs.meiji.ac.jp/
Takeno
Archive.html). Now, after about seven years have passed, I
feel that the success of this experiment is becoming more and more
important. In this chapter, I will check a large number of comments
received during this period and re-evaluate the experiments and
their effect.
June 25, 2012 14:20 PSP Book - 9in x 6in 10-Junichi-Takeno-c10
What Is Mirror Image Cognition? 207
I herewith declare the 100% success of the mirror image
cognition test of my conscious robot. Lastly, some topics derived
from the results of the experiments will be introduced.
10.2 What Is Mirror Image Cognition?
Mirror image cognition means that one is aware of the image of
oneself in a mirror. I can tell my image in a mirror out of several co-
occurring images (Fig. 10.1). I think other people can also identify
their images in a mirror as I can do because they put on makeup
and dress themselves in front of a mirror. Some say that this is a
subjective experience and therefore is a typical theme that rejects a
scientific approach. Scientific research is, however, necessary when
we are asked to answer the question, “Why can I tell it’s my own
image in a mirror?” The author calls this problem the “mystery of
mirror image cognition” and has been trying to unravel this mystery
using robots or machine systems.
Figure 10.1. Where am I? (Starbucks in Washington, D.C.)
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.