FUR: Understanding functional reasoning

By functional reasoning we mean the ability of integrating shape, function, and plans in reasoning. the shape of many man‐made objects, such as tools, is expressly designed to provide precise functionalities. Moreover, humans know how to use the same objects for different functions. In vision and reasoning we make use of complex information which is not exclusively based on geometric and spatial knowledge, but also on functional elements. They seem to play a role in object recognition and representation. This article is an insight in functional reasoning from the computational point of view. It introduces its concepts and its apparent ubiquity in human behavior. Some relevant computational literature is reported and discussed. the rest of the article is an outline of the FUR project, an attempt to develop a computational model for functional reasoning. the development state of the project is presented along with the implementation of a first prototype. Some experimental results are fin...