[1] In addition to providing hypotheses to guide further research, the architecture can support control structures for software agents and robots.
Providing plausible explanations for many cognitive processes, the LIDA conceptual model is also intended as a tool with which to think about how minds work.
Though it is neither symbolic nor strictly connectionist, LIDA is a hybrid architecture in that it employs a variety of computational mechanisms, chosen for their psychological plausibility.
A codelet is a "special purpose, relatively independent, mini-agent typically implemented as a small piece of code running as a separate thread.
The output engages perceptual associative memory where higher-level feature detectors feed in to more abstract entities such as objects, categories, actions, events, etc.
[2] In the consciousness phase, "attention codelets" form coalitions by selecting portions of the situational model and moving them to the Global Workspace.
The selected behavior triggers sensory-motor memory to produce a suitable algorithm for its execution, which completes the cognitive cycle.
IDA (Intelligent Distribution Agent) was developed for the US Navy[24][25][26] to fulfill tasks performed by human resource personnel called detailers.