Abstract: A new approach based on attention control ideas is presented. We introduce the framework of Attentional Agents as the theoretical framework for constructing enhanced agents. We propose an approach where an agent processes multiple, possibly conflicting, goals in parallel and it uses a number of signals for obtaining information about its environment and own state. Additional requirements include a fast response in a changing environment and working with incomplete information. The proposed framework integrates in a seamless manner, sub-symbolic and symbolic processing, feedback control, conflict resolution, processing of multiple concurrent goals and action generation. We apply the general framework to the development of a robotic agent and we provide results from simple simulations where usage of multi-modal information and competing goals are present so as to illustrate the general ideas.
