A Survey of the Ontogeny of Tool Use: From Sensorimotor Experience to Planning

Abstract

In this paper, we review current knowledge on tool use development in infants in order to provide relevant information to cognitive developmental roboticists seeking to design artificial systems that develop tool use abilities. This information covers: 1) sketching developmental pathways leading to tool use competences; 2) the characterization of learning and test situations; 3) the crystallization of seven mechanisms underlying the developmental process; and 4) the formulation of a number of challenges and recommendations for designing artificial systems that exhibit tool use abilities in complex contexts.