Commentaries on "Learning Sensorimotor Control with Neuromorphic Sensors: Toward Hyperdimensional Active Perception" [Science Robotics Vol. 4 Issue 30 (2019) 1-10

This correspondence comments on the findings reported in a recent Science Robotics article by Mitrokhin et al. [1]. The main goal of this commentary is to expand on some of the issues touched on in that article. Our experience is that hyperdimensional computing is very different from other approaches to computation and that it can take considerable exposure to its concepts before attaining practically useful understanding. Therefore, in order to provide an overview of the area to the first time reader of [1], the commentary includes a brief historic overview as well as connects the findings of the article to a larger body of literature existing in the area. I. INTRODUCTION The recent article by A. Mitrokhin, P. Sutor, C. Fermüller, and Y. Aloimonos, "Learning Sensorimotor Control with Neuromorphic Sensors: Toward Hyperdimensional Active Perception", which appeared in Science Robotics vol. 4 issue 30 (2019), presents a case for using a computation framework called hyperdimensional computing also known as Vector Symbolic Architectures (VSAs) for fusing motoric abilities of a robot with its perception system. The idea of computing with random vectors as basic objects is also known as Holographic Reduced Representation [2], Multiply-Add-Permute [3], Binary Spatter Codes [4], Binary Sparse Distributed Codes [5], Matrix Binding of Additive Terms [6], and Semantic Pointer Architecture [7]. All these frameworks are essentially equivalent. In the light of the present very high level of attention to the area of autonomous AIempowered systems from the industry and the society, we hope and believe that the application of VSAs in robotics will get an appropriately increasing attention from the community of AI/robotics researchers and practitioners. Our own experience with VSAs has shown that due to its considerable difference from the conventional computing paradigms the development of intuition and understanding required for practical applications needs to be supported by extended exposure to the details and interpretation of VSAs.