Methodological Assumptions of Subsumption

In this section, we consider the subsumption architecture originally proposed by Brooks [1986]. The subsumption (or 'Brooksian') architecture is predicated on the synergy between sensation and actuation in lower animals such as insects. Brooks argues that instead of building complex agents in simple worlds, we should follow the evolutionary path and start building simple agents in the real -- complex and unpredictable -- world.

From this argument, a number of key features of subsumption result:

No explicit knowledge representation is used.
Behavior is distributed rather than centralized.
Response to stimuli is reflexive -- the perception-action sequence is not modulated by cognitive deliberation.

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