Introduction

Abstract

The research reported in this book addresses a class of visual perception problems collectively called the spatial layout problem, which concerns spatial locations and spatial relations, identifying where things are with respect to the viewer, and determining the spatial layout of the environment. Virtually all animals capable of locomotion routinely “solve” this problem from early ages, so clearly it does not require a particularly high level of cognitive functioning to be able to move around safely in the world; indeed, the prevalence of this ability suggests that the determination of spatial layout admits of a rather simple solution. The basic task of this research is to test one possible solution approach by experimenting on a particularly limited organism: a robot device equipped with stereo cameras mounted on a neck-like mechanism much like the human head, allowing them to move in space.