Autonomous Cognitive Robots Need Emotional Modulations: Introducing the eMODUL Model

Emotion is an integral part of cognition. There is significant evidence of mutual, bi-directional influence between cognitive and emotional processes. Also, more and more research works propose an integrative view of emotion and cognition. In this paper, we review a large literature on emotion–cognition interactions in psychology, neuroscience, and computational modeling. Then, we introduce eMODUL, which consolidates this literature into a conceptual model. In particular, this model stresses the importance of emotional modulations and the roles they play with respect to the system autonomy depending on the targeted computational/cognitive processes (e.g., allocation of resources, organization of behavior). To illustrate these aspects and support our theoretical model, we review two robotic experiments where eMODUL is instantiated. The results demonstrate the interest of our approach for the development of interaction/communication and autonomy/adaptation capabilities in cognitive robots. In terms of natural cognition understanding they give additional insights into the emergence of emotion, the construction of multilevel appraisal, and the link between emotion and cognition in task-related emotions.

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