Michel van Dartel

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About

Michel van Dartel is a researcher whose work bridges robotics, cognitive science, and artificial life, with a particular focus on how internal simulation can underpin cognition. His key research areas include robot foraging behaviour, symbol manipulation, and categorisation through simulated perception and action. Van Dartel’s major contributions lie in challenging traditional approaches to cognition by proposing that thinking itself may consist of simulated interaction with the environment—a concept known as the simulation hypothesis. In his most-cited work, "Macroscopic analysis of robot foraging behaviour" (2004, 15 citations), he pioneered a shift from microscopic, single-system analyses to broader, macroscopic studies of robot behaviour, offering new insights into collective dynamics. His subsequent papers, "Symbol manipulation by internal simulation of perception and behaviour" (2005, 5 citations) and "Categorisation through internal simulation of perception and behaviour" (2005, 3 citations), further advanced embodied models of cognitive development. By presenting minimal-model approaches, van Dartel provided compelling evidence for how robots can achieve categorisation and symbolic reasoning without explicit programming, making his work a touchstone for researchers exploring the intersection of embodiment, simulation, and cognition.