ECAGENTS: Embodied and communicating agents

• Research unit: EU RFP
• Project number: 03.0550

Key words (English)

Embodied cognition; communication and language; complex systems

Alternative project number (English)

EU project number: 001940

Research programs (English)

EU-programme: 6. Frame Research Programme - 1.2 Communications technologies

Short description (English)

See abstract

Further information (English)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise:
EPF Lausanne
EPFL-STI-I2S-LIS
Intelligent Systems Laboratory, Bât. ELE

Abstract (English)

The project proposes visionary and high risk research that will provide better understanding of the role of communication in collections of embodied and situated agents using the methodological and theoretical tools of complex systems science and computer science. We aim at studying how communication arises, what different types of communication systems there are or can be, what the different pre-conditions are that must be satisfied for the emergence of different types of communication systems, what kind of performances at the collective level are made possible by different communication systems, what is the role of network communication topology in such performances. The project will investigate basic properties of different communication systems, from simple communication systems in animals to human language and technology-supported human communication, to clarify the nature of existing communications systems and to provide ideas for designing new technologies based on collections of embodied and communicating devices.
The aim of the project is the development of a new generation of embodied agents that are able to interact directly (i.e., without human intervention) with the physical world and to communicate between them and with other agents (including humans). This will be achieved through the development of new design principles, algorithms, and mechanisms that can extend the functionality of existing technological artefacts (mobile phone, WI-FI devices, robots and robot-like artefacts, etc.) and can lead to the development of new artefacts exploiting the characteristics of ECAgents.

References in databases (English)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 03.0550