RoboErgoSum Project

There is an intricate relationship between self-awareness and the ability to perform cognitive-level reasoning.

ISIR researchers

Principal investigators

Raja Chatila's contributions to autonomous and cognitive robotics particularly encompass aspects of perception, spatial navigation, human-robot interaction, and solutions for the integration within three-layered cognitive architectures for deliberation, planning and execution.

Benoît Girard and Mehdi Khamassi are experts in the design of neuro-inspired computational models of decision-making and reinforcement learning [1][2][3] and in the transfer of knowledge from neuroscience to robotic applications [4][5][6]. Mehdi Khamassi also has a strong background of collaboration with neurobiologists [7][8][9]. Benoît Girard has a strong experience in developing models integrating multiple cognitive functions and applied to various action selection and spatial navigation tasks [4][10][1][11][12].

Post-doctoral researchers

Mihai Andries
Ricardo Omar Chavez-Garcia
Erwan Renaudo

Doctoral students

Raphaël Gottstein
Pierre Luce-Vayrac

[1]	• Girard, B., Tabareau, N., Pham, Q., Berthoz, A. & Slotine, J.J. Where neuroscience and dynamic system theory meet autonomous robotics: a contracting basal ganglia model for action selection. Neural Networks, 21(4):628-641, 2008.
[2]	• Khamassi, M., Lachèze, L., Girard, B., Berthoz, A. & Guillot, A. Actor-Critic Models of Reinforcement Learning in the Basal Ganglia: From Natural to Artificial Rats. Adaptive Behavior, 13(2):131-148, 2005.
[3]	• Khamassi, M., Wilson, C., Rothé, R., Quilodran, R., Dominey, P. & Procyk, E. Meta-learning, cognitive control, and physiological interactions between medial and lateral prefrontal cortex. In Neural Basis of Motivational and Cognitive Control, pages 351-370, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2011.
[4]	• Girard, B., Cuzin, V., Guillot, A., Gurney, K. & Prescott, T. A Basal ganglia inspired model of action selection evaluated in a robotic survival task. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, 2(3):179-200, 2003.
[5]	• Khamassi, M., Lallée, S., Enel, P., Procyk, E. & Dominey, P. Robot cognitive control with a neurophysiologically inspired reinforcement learning model. Frontiers in Neurorobotics, 5:1, 2011.
[6]	• Caluwaerts, K., Grand, C., N'Guyen, S., Dollé, L., Guillot, A. & Khamassi, M. Design of a biologically inspired navigation system for the Psikharpax rodent robot. In International workshop on bio-inspired robots (CFP-2011), 2011.
[7]	• Khamassi, M., Mulder, A., Tabuchi, E., Douchamps, V. & S.I., W. Anticipatory reward signals in ventral striatal neurons of behaving rats. European Journal of Neuroscience, 28(9):1849-1866, 2008.
[8]	• Peyrache, A., Khamassi, M., Benchenane, K., Wiener, S. & Battaglia, F. Replay of rule-learning related neural patterns in the prefrontal cortex during sleep.. Nature Neuroscience, 12(7):919-926, 2009.
[9]	• Benchenane, K., Peyrache, A., Khamassi, M., Tierney, P., Gioanni, Y., Battaglia, F. & Wiener, S. Coherent theta oscillations and reorganization of spike timing in the hippocampal-prefrontal network upon learning. Neuron, 66(6):921-936, 2010.
[10]	• Girard, B. & Berthoz, A. From brainstem to cortex: computational models of the saccade generation circuitry. Progress in Neurobiology, 77(4):215-251, 2005.
[11]	• Dollé, L., Sheynikhovich, D., Girard, B., Chavarriaga, R. & Guillot, A. Path planning versus cue responding: a bioinspired model of switching between navigation strategies. Biological Cybernetics, 103(4):299-317, Springer Verlag, 2010.
[12]	• N'Guyen, S., Pirim, P., Meyer, J.A. & Girard, B. An Integrated Neuromimetic Model of the Saccadic Eye Movements for the Psikharpax Robot. In From animals to animats 11, 6226:114-125, Springer, 2010.

RoboErgoSum project is funded by an ANR grant under reference ANR-12-CORD-0030