Timing-based model of body schema adaptation and its role in perception and tool use: A robot case study

The multisensory representation of our body (body schema), and its conscious and manipulable counterpart (body image) play a pivotal role in the development and expression of many higher level cognitive functions, such as tool use, imitation, spatial perception,, and self-awareness. This paper addresses the issue of how the body schema changes as a result of tool use-dependent experience. Although it is plausible to assume that such an alteration is inevitable, the mechanisms underlying such plasticity have yet to be clarified. To tackle the problem, we propose a novel model of body schema adaptation which we instantiate in a tool using robot. Our experimental results confirm the validity of our model. They also show that timing is a particularly important feature of our model because it supports the integration of visual, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory information. We hope that the approach exposed in this study will allow to gain further insights into the development of tool use skills and its relationship to body schema plasticity.