Dynamics, Morpholgy, and Materials in the Emergence of Cognition

Early approaches to understanding intelligence have assumed that intelligence can be studied at the level of algorithms which is why for many years the major tool of artiicial intelligence (AI) researchers has been the computer (this has become known as classical AI). As researchers started to build robots they realized that the hardest issues in the study of intelligence involve perception and action in the real world. An entire new research eld called \embodied intelligence" (or \New AI", \embodied cognitive science") emerged and \embodimen t" became the new buzzword. In the meantime there has been a lot of research employing robots for the study of intelligence. However, embodiment has not been taken really seriously. Hardly any studies deal with morphology (i.e. shape), material properties, and their relation to sensory-motor processing. The goal of this paper is to investigate { or rather to raise { some of the issues involved and discuss the far-reaching implications of embodiment which leads to a new perspective on intelligence. This new perspective requires considerations of \ecological balance" and sensory-motor coordination, rather than algorithms and computation exclusively. Using a series of case studies, it will be illustrated how these considerations can lead to a new understanding of intelligence.