Evolution of a Communication Code in Cooperative Tasks
Year: 2012
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: Communication through vocalizations is used by spotted hyenas and chimpanzees for coordination during hunting and for raising alarm calls in defense (Bullinger et al., 2011; Holekamp et al., 2007). Vocal signals are omni-directional and are therefore more effective than visual communication in these situations. In cooperative tasks, agents use these signals to pro-actively exchange information for common good. A simulated predator-prey domain is considered in this paper - where multiple predator agents exchange real valued messages as an approximation of vocalization in nature. In artificial intelligence, the problem of coordination among multiple predator agents during prey capture is hard because of the non-Markovian environment (Panait and Luke, 2005). Experiments are carried out in this paper to show how information exchange through messaging can make the environment less non-Markovian and improve predator team performance during cooperative hunt. The values of these messages are analyzed to study the emergence of a common communication code among the predator agents. The results in this paper also provide an insight into the constraints under which language evolves in nature.
Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, Michigan State University
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W2918125685