ABSTRACT

Th is chapter is on perceiving and acting in the world. First, we will see that it is possible to construct artifi cial versions for each of the human senses. We will also see technological equivalents for the major structures involved in any action, including muscles and specifi c limbs like arms, hands, and legs. For both the perceptual mechanisms and the motor structures, there are purely robotic creations and prosthetics that can be attached to a person. Following this, we will examine the basic categories of human action including navigation, reaching, grasping, and locomotion. When we decompose and formalize these actions we will see that they are really quite complex. But research on them has helped us to understand how they are executed in a person and how they may be reproduced.