This book provides an integrated framework for natural and artificial cognition by highlighting the fundamental role played by the cognitive architecture in the dialectics with the surrounding environment and consequently in the definition of a particular meaningful world. This book is also about embodied and non-embodied artificial systems, cognitive architectures that are human constructs, meant to be able to populate the human world, capable of identifying different life contexts and replicating human patterns of behavior capable of acting according to human values and conventions, systems that perform tasks in a human-like way. By identifying the essential phenomena at the core of all forms of cognition, the book addresses the topic of design of artificial cognitive architectures in the domains of robotics and artificial life. Moving from mere bio-inspired design methodology it aims to open a pathway to semiotically determined design.

This book contains the Proceedings of the International Conference on Robot Ethics, held in Lisbon on October 23 and 24, 2015. The conference provided a multidisciplinary forum for discussing central and evolving issues concerning safety and ethics that have arisen in various contexts where robotic technologies are being applied. The papers are intended to promote the formulation of more precise safety standards and ethical frameworks for the rapidly changing field of robotic applications. The conference was held at Pavilhao do Conhecimento/Ciencia Viva in Lisbon and brought together leading researchers and industry representatives, promoting a dialogue that combines different perspectives and experiences to arrive at viable solutions for ethical problems in the context of robotics. The conference topics included but were not limited to emerging ethical, safety, legal and societal problems in the following domains: * Service/Social Robots: Robots performing tasks in human environments and involving close human-robot interactions in everyday households; robots for education and entertainment; and robots employed in elderly and other care applications * Mobile Robots: Self-driving vehicles, autonomous aircraft, trains, cars and drones * Robots used in medicine and for therapeutic purposes * Robots used in surveillance and military functions