Development in artificial systems

AI and robotics tackled the problem of building autonomous creatures (human-like sometimes) from many different directions. In spite of this, our systems are still primitive, little adaptive and prone to failure. We present a possible alternative to the construction of embodied artificial systems where the process of development is explicitly considered. This is in contrast with the common practice of modular design. We describe also an instantiation of this principle in an anthropomorphic robot interacting and acting in a real environment. The robot is equipped with diverse sensory modalities such as vision, proprioception, audition, and it interacts with the environment through a sophisticated motor apparatus.