Description of Subsumption Architecture
Description of the Subsumption Architecture
The subsumption architecture consists of augmented finite state machines
(AFSMs)
organized into layers, where layers correspond to pre-wired behaviors.
The augmentation of the state machines consists
of timers which, until timing out, can either block an input of a finite
state machine (an inhibitor) or suppress an outline line (a
suppressor).
The chief role of these inhibitors and suppressors is to allow higher
level behaviors to subsume those at a lower level. Thus the control of
the agents overall behavior is distributed through the interacting,
hard-wired layers of its architecture without any centralized
control mechanisms.
Two modifications to the basic subsumption architecture are also described:
Because the subsumption architecture was designed for
unpredictable environments, it was designed to have
low cost, low complexity (easily replaced), and low power requirements.
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