Foundations of cognitive robotics

Foundations of Cognitive Robotics is an interdisciplinary course that explores how intelligent behavior can be designed, implemented, and evaluated in autonomous robotic systems. The course focuses on the integration of cognition, perception, learning, and action, enabling robots to reason about their environment, make decisions under uncertainty, and adapt to dynamic real-world conditions. Drawing from artificial intelligence, robotics, cognitive science, neuroscience, and control theory, the course provides a comprehensive framework for understanding how cognitive capabilities emerge in embodied agents.

The course begins with the fundamental principles of cognitive robotics, emphasizing the concept of embodiment and the tight coupling between perception, cognition, and motor action. Learners are introduced to sensing and perception mechanisms, including visual, auditory, and proprioceptive inputs, and how these sensory streams are transformed into internal representations of the environment. Topics such as sensor fusion, world modeling, and state estimation are covered to explain how robots maintain situational awareness in complex and uncertain settings.

Source : IIT Kanpur (Youtube Channel)