Exploring design space for an integrated intelligent system

Understanding the trade-offs available in the design space of intelligent systems is a major unaddressed element in the study of Artificial Intelligence. In this paper, we approach this problem in two ways. First, we discuss the development of our integrated robotic system in terms of its trajectory through design space. Second, we demonstrate the practical implications of architectural design decisions by using this system as an experimental platform for comparing behaviourally similar yet architecturally different systems. The results of this show that our system occupies a ‘‘sweet spot” in design space in terms of the cost of moving information between processing components. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.