The lack of a well established theory of consciousness is a major difficulty in the construction of machines that express some of the functionalities associated to them. The ASys long term project intends the construction of assets for engineering any-scale, self-aware autonomous systems. A core element in this effort is the proposal of an architecture for consciousness of general applicability. In this article we analyze some of the current problems present in the construction of machines based on cognitive models and propose a model-based strategy to enhance the rigor of the theorization on consciousness and its mapping into realizations in technical systems.@en

The reflection on the nature of mind has a long history. In western tradition, this reflection has mostly taken place along the so-called dualist approach, where mind and body completely have different characteristics and even natures. In this dualistic context for understanding thought (and life!), the biggest problem has always been how these two realms-the physical and the mental-could possibly interact: the mind-body problem is the unavoidable sequel to this dualist standpoint. The embodied cognition movement tries to reconcile this apparently multiple qualities (. duality and unity) of human experience by means of analyzing the ways in which the body may affect cognition: supporting, sustaining, shaping, etc. Mind and body cannot be separated because cognitive agents think with the body. Mind, as a separate entity, is in the eye of the beholder. This chapter contends that the mind-body problem is not a problem of minds and bodies in the world-that is, a physical problem of interaction-but simply an artificial, conceptual problem for philosophers/scientists. The way to come out of the problem is to realize that minds and bodies are not separate entities, but what are separate are the mental concepts used in thinking about them; that is, what most thinkers use to think about minds and bodies as ontologically fully separate entities. However this way of thinking is misleading. Minds can be reduced to bodies because they are simply processes that run on them.@en

Rapidly developing research in neurophysiology has challenged classical cognitive models based on behavioral evidence. Studies looking more closely at the relationship between cognitive function and the brain structure have shed new light on how the mental processes are physically implemented in the brain. Regardless of whether the neural correlate of cognition is dispersed (the activity of a particular neuron is not representative) or distributed (the level of individual neurons is selective of a concrete feature), it is essential to establish a cognitive ontology that instantiates the structure-function mapping of the brain. The core of the present work relies on the next systemic assumption: at some level, different parts of the normal, healthy brain subserve functions. Consequently, functions should predict the structure and the structure should predict the function. Direct inference or What are the neural correlates of a cognitive operation? and reverse inference or What is the function associated with a brain area activation? are dealt with this systemic and computational light. Needless to say, the task ahead is arduous. Anyhow, important steps are being taken towards true brain inspired architectures in cognitive systems, http://brainmap.org, a database for querying and retrieving data about brain structure and function over the internet, is available to be utilized for testing empirically architectural assumptions. We present a methodology, exemplified by an algorithm, to build cognitive ontologies that integrate cognitive and anatomical models of the brain.@en

Photovoltaic cells based on arrays of semiconductor nanowires promise efficiencies comparable or even better than their planar counterparts with much less material. One reason for the high efficiencies is their large absorption cross section, but until recently the photocurrent has been limited to less than 70% of the theoretical maximum. Here we enhance the absorption in indium phosphide (InP) nanowire solar cells by employing broadband forward scattering of self-aligned nanoparticles on top of the transparent top contact layer. This results in a nanowire solar cell with a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 17.8% and a short-circuit current of 29.3 mA/cm2 under 1 sun illumination, which is the highest reported so far for nanowire solar cells and among the highest reported for III-V solar cells. We also measure the angle-dependent photocurrent, using time-reversed Fourier microscopy, and demonstrate a broadband and omnidirectional absorption enhancement for unpolarized light up to 60° with a wavelength average of 12% due to Mie scattering. These results unambiguously demonstrate the potential of semiconductor nanowires as nanostructures for the next generation of photovoltaic devices.@en

The construction of fully effective systems seems to pass through the proper exploitation of goal-centric self-evaluative capabilities that let the system teleologically self-manage. Emotions seem to provide this kind of functionality to biological systems and hence the interest in emotion for function sustainment in artificial systems performing in changing and uncertain environments; far beyond the media hullabaloo of displaying human-like emotion-laden faces in robots. This chapter provides a brief analysis of the scientific theories of emotion and presents an engineering approach for developing technology for robust autonomy by implementing functionality inspired in that of biological emotions.@en

The emission from nanowires can couple to waveguide modes supported by the nanowire geometry, thus governing the far-field angular pattern. To investigate the geometry-induced coupling of the emission to waveguide modes, we acquire Fourier microscopy images of the photoluminescence of nanowires with diameters ranging from 143 to 208 nm. From the investigated diameter range, we conclude that a few nanometers difference in diameter can abruptly change the coupling of the emission to a specific mode. Moreover, we observe a diameter-dependent width of the Gaussian-shaped angular pattern in the far-field emission. This dependence is understood in terms of interference of the guided modes, which emit at the end facets of the nanowire. Our results are important for the design of quantum emitters, solid state lighting, and photovoltaic devices based on nanowires.@en

Much is being done in an attempt to transfer emotional mechanisms from reverse-engineered biology into social robots. There are two basic approaches: the imitative display of emotion -e.g. to intend more human-like robots- and the provision of architectures with intrinsic emotion -in the hope of enhancing behavioral aspects. This paper focuses on the second approach, describing a core vision regarding the integration of cognitive, emotional and autonomic aspects in social robot systems. This vision has evolved as a result of the efforts in consolidating the models extracted from rat emotion research and their implementation in technical use cases based on a general systemic analysis in the framework of the ICEA and C3 projects. The desire for generality of the approach intends obtaining universal theories of integrated -autonomic, emotional, cognitive- behavior. The proposed conceptualizations and architectural principles are then captured in a theoretical framework: ASys - The Autonomous Systems Framework.@en