Animal and robot mixed societies: building cooperation between microrobots and cockroaches

This paper presents the European project LEURRE which deals with the cooperation between robots and animals in a social context. Its main objective is to demonstrate the possible control of such mixed societies. The control of interactions between artificial systems and living organisms is a key challenge in many scientific fields like medicine, agriculture, and ethology. All biological levels are concerned: the cellular level regarding, for example, interfaces between artificial systems and cells like neurons; the organism level regarding intelligent prosthesis; and the human level as it relates to cooperation between humans and robots. For research dealing with animal societies, it is convenient to use animals that allow detailed analysis and modeling. For this reason, gregarious insects are a good choice. The artificial agent in the mixed society is an autonomous mobile robot. The recent results achieved in this field allows the design of a miniature robot with sufficient performance to interact with insects. It is called InsBot for "insect-like robot". To achieve the goals, American cockroaches and miniature robots were used to form the experimental mixed society.     

Exploring the design space of robots: Children''s perspectives

Children's perceptions and evaluations of different robot designs are an important unexplored area within robotics research considering that many robots are specifically designed for children. To examine children's feelings and attitudes towards robots, a large sample of children (N = 159) evaluated 40 robot images by completing a questionnaire for each image, which enquired about robot appearance, robot personality dimensions and robot emotions. Results showed that depending on a robot's appearance children clearly distinguished robots in terms of their intentions (i.e. friendly vs. unfriendly), their capability to understand, and their emotional expression. Results of a principal components analysis of the children's ratings of the robots' personality attributes revealed two dimensions labelled ‘Behavioural Intention’ and ‘Emotional Expression’. Robots were classified according to their scores on these two dimensions and a content analysis of their appearance was conducted in an attempt to identify salient features of different robot personalities. Children judged human-like robots as aggressive, but human–machine robots as friendly. Results on children's perceptions of the robots' behavioural intentions provided tentative empirical support for the Uncanny Valley, hypothesized by (Mori, M., 1970), reflecting a situation where robots are very human-like, but still distinguishable from humans, evoking a feeling of discomfort or repulsion. The paper concludes with a discussion of design implications for robots, and the use of robots in educational contexts.     

Real-time integrated model for visual perception and fuzzy control

Current state-of-the-art security systems incorporate ‘passive’ and/or ‘human’ elements, the effectiveness of which can only be measured by their ability to ‘deter’ intruders. However, rapidly changing economic and cultural conditions have weakened the strengths associated with such systems. In the not too distant future, the need for an ‘active’ security system will become necessary in order to reduce the onslaught of crime.

This paper presents a conceptual basis for the incorporation of artificial intelligence concepts in the design and implementation of ‘active’ security systems. Specifically, the paper discusses issues pertaining to a real-time model for visual perception and tracking of possible intruders.     

A PATH PLANNING METHOD BASED ON CELLULAR AUTOMATA FOR COOPERATIVE ROBOTS

A Cellular Automaton-based technique suitable for solving the path planning problem in a distributed robot team is outlined. Real-time path planning is a challenging task that has many applications in the fields of artificial intelligence, moving robots, virtual reality, and agent behavior simulation. The problem refers to finding a collision-free path for autonomous robots between two specified positions in a configuration area. The complexity of the problem increases in systems of multiple robots. More specifically, some distance should be covered by each robot in an unknown environment, avoiding obstacles found on its route to the destination. On the other hand, all robots must adjust their actions in order to keep their initial team formation immutable. Two different formations were tested in order to study the efficiency and the flexibility of the proposed method. Using different formations, the proposed technique could find applications to image processing tasks, swarm intelligence, etc. Furthermore, the presented Cellular Automaton (CA) method was implemented and tested in a real system using three autonomous mobile minirobots called E-pucks. Experimental results indicate that accurate collision-free paths could be created with low computational cost. Additionally, cooperation tasks could be achieved using minimal hardware resources, even in systems with low-cost robots.     

养老服务机器人的技术发展趋势

随着人工智能,无线网络,云计算的发展,服务机器人已经进入快速发展阶段。我国已经进入老龄化社会,服务机器人成为缓解社会压力,推动科技发展的关键技术和社会热点。它给出了基于云计算的服务机器人基本概念、体系结构及关键技术,重点阐述了人机交互技术在机器人拟“人”化的实现过程,分析了养老服务机器人未来发展社会、政策及技术方面的支持与保障,总结了制约云机器人发展的障碍和改善方法。     

Research into the application of AI robots in community home leisure interaction

This paper focuses on comprehensive application of artificial intelligence robots for community-based leisure interaction. We propose a multiple-layer perceptron network to design and implement the intelligent interactive home robot system, which includes establishment of an environment map, autonomous navigation, obstacle-avoidance control and human–machine interaction, to complete the positioning and perception functions required by the robot in the home environment. With this system, community residents use an interactive interface to manipulate robots remotely and create an environmental map. In order for the robot to adapt in this changing environment, the robot needs to have a completely autonomous navigation and obstacle-avoidance-control system. In this study, a long-distance obstacle-avoidance fuzzy system and a short-distance anti-fall obstacle-avoidance fuzzy system were used to enable the robot to accommodate unforeseen changes. This technology proved itself capable of navigating a home environment, ensuring that the robot could instantaneously dodge nearby obstacles and correcting the robot’s path of travel. At the same time, it could prevent the robot from falling off a high dropping point and thereby effectively control the robot’s movement trajectory. After combining the above-mentioned multi-sensor and image recognition functions, the intelligent interactive home robot showed that it clearly has the ability to integrate vision, perception and interaction, and we were able to verify that the robot has the necessary adaptability in changing environments and that the design of such interactive robots can be an asset in the home.

     

Sometimes it’s hard to be a robot: A call for action on the ethics of abusing artificial agents

This is a call for informed debate on the ethical issues raised by the forthcoming widespread use of robots, particularly in domestic settings. Research shows that humans can sometimes become very abusive towards computers and robots particularly when they are seen as human-like and this raises important ethical issues.

The designers of robotic systems need to take an ethical stance on at least three specific questions. Firstly is it acceptable to treat artefacts – particularly human-like artefacts – in ways that we would consider it morally unacceptable to treat humans? Second, if so, just how much sexual or violent ‘abuse’ of an artificial agent should we allow before we censure the behaviour of the abuser? Thirdly is it ethical for designers to attempt to ‘design out’ abusive behaviour by users?

Conclusions on these and related issues should be used to modify professional codes as a matter of urgency.     

移动机器人长期自主环境适应研究进展和展望

真实世界中存在光照、天气、季节及场景结构等复杂环境因素, 这些因素的改变对移动机器人基本行为和任务能力带来巨大挑战.随着机器人与人工智能技术的不断发展, 如何使移动机器人在长期运行中与复杂多变的环境条件相适应是智能机器人领域的研究热点.本文重点从地图构建与动态维护、重定位及场景理解等移动机器人基本行为能力的系统综述入手, 对移动机器人长期自主环境适应的前沿技术与研究方向进行了着重论述与分析.最后对该领域的研究重点和技术发展趋势进行了探讨.     

How far away is “artificial man”

The authors claim that a careful examination of robotics science and technology from its origins in the 1950s to its current status reveals that such progress, albeit very important, profitable, and with a strong impact on society, was basically the “side activities” to the ever-existing and continuous desire of mankind to build and realize humanoid robots, artificial men equipped uith proper intelligence capable of operating autonomously, thus replacing trained individuals for dexterous jobs. They consider such a humanoid robot through the realistic tasks/jobs it will most probably do. It is postulated that this humanoid robot be considered as a personal helper (a home robot or personal robot). Given the present level of technology, the question is posed: are we ready to move towards personal robotics, and what might be the first step? A possible answer to this question is given through a discussion of the human-like characteristics a personal robot must have; namely, human-like motion, human-like intelligence, and human-like communication     

Robot ethics? Not yet: A reflection on Whitby’s “Sometimes it’s hard to be a robot”

Science fiction stories seductively portray robots as human. In present reality (early 21st century) robots are machines, even though they can do many things far better than humans (fly, swim, play chess to name a few). Any ethics for or of robots is therefore a seductive mix of fiction and reality. The key issue for rational discourse is to provide a rigorous framework for reasoning about the issues, including identifying flaws in the framework. We find such meta-reasoning in discussion about robot ethics to be ready for improvement.

This paper takes its inspiration from B. Whitby, “Sometimes it’s hard to be a robot: A call for action on the ethics of abusing artificial agents,” Interacting with Computers, this issue, 2008.     

Robotic clicker training

In this paper, we want to propose the idea that some techniques used for animal training might be helpful for solving human–robot interaction problems in the context of entertainment robotics. We present a model for teaching complex actions to an animal-like autonomous robot based on “clicker training”, a method used efficiently by professional trainers for animals of different species. After describing our implementation of clicker training on an enhanced version of AIBO, Sony’s four-legged robot, we argue that this new method can be a promising technique for teaching unusual behavior and sequences of actions to a pet robot.     

Acquisition of internal representation in robots - toward human-robot communication using primitive language

This research aims to clarify behavior intelligence and human cooperation intelligence of robots by emotion models which are based on the robot's hardware structure. In this paper, a human's mental image (internal expression) is given consideration as a method for emotional expression of robots. The hypothesis model for the acquisition of the internal expression of robots and experimental results using a real autonomous robot are described.     

Artificial neural network based robot control: An overview

The current thrust of research in robotics is to build robots which can operate in dynamic and/or partially known environments. The ability of learning endows the robot with a form of autonomous intelligence to handle such situations. This paper focuses on the intersection of the fields of robot control and learning methods as represented by artificial neural networks. An in-depth overview of the application of neural networks to the problem of robot control is presented. Some typical neural network architectures are discussed first. The important issues involved in the study of robotics are then highlighted. This paper concentrates on the neural network applications to the motion control of robots involved in both non-contact and contact tasks. The current state of research in this area is surveyed and the strengths and weakness of the present approaches are emphasized. The paper concludes by indentifying areas which need future research work.     

Helenic fault tolerance for robots

In robot applications where the consequences of system failure are unbearable, fault tolerance is mandatory. Fault tolerant robots continue to function correctly despite component failures. Fault tolerant robots can be designed using the Helenic architecture. This architecture uses non-homogeneous functional modular redundancy and a democratic dynamic weighted voting algorithm for redundancy management to achieve fault tolerance. The benefits offered are increased reliability, maintainability, common mode failure resistance, and significant cost reductions. To demonstrate the fault tolerance capabilities of this system architecture, a 5 wheel omnidirectional mobile robot with sensors, computing elements and actuators was designed and simulated. Simulation results verify the robot's ability to continue ‘correct’ operation despite internal subsystem failures.     

人工智能国外研究情况综述

人工智能国外研究情况分五点进行综述: 1.脑和神经元模型.评述了有关脑和神经元模型的研究情况,特别指出这些研究对了解人类智能和人工智能的重要性. 2.思维过程模拟.强调从人的智能活动中寻找启发物来实现人工智能. 3.模式识别.关于视觉模式识别问题,谈到了统计学途径和语言学途径.还谈到机器人的识别问题. 4.自然语言的理解.给出了从50年代后期的语言分析到语义网络的记忆模型,以及 70年代初的概念依赖理论等方面的研究概貌. 5.智能机器人.介绍了美国麻省理工学院、斯坦福大学及日本的某些机器人的情况. 根据以上内容,作者们认为人工智能是一门边缘学科,必须有不同学科的科学工作者参加,才能取得显著的成绩.     

Autonomy and Common Ground in Human-Robot Interaction: A Field Study

The use of robots, especially autonomous mobile robots, to support work is expected to increase over the next few decades. However, little empirical research examines how users form mental models of robots, how they collaborate with them, and what factors contribute to the success or failure of human-robot collaboration. A two-year observational study of a collaborative human-robot system suggests that the factors disrupting the creation of common ground for interactive communication change at different levels of robot autonomy. Our observations of users collaborating with the remote robot showed differences in how the users reached common ground with the robot in terms of an accurate, shared understanding of the robot's context, planning, and actions - a process called grounding. We focus on how the types and levels of robot autonomy affect grounding. We also examine the challenges a highly autonomous system presents to people's ability to maintain a shared mental model of the robot     

Anthropomorphism and the social robot

This paper discusses the issues pertinent to the development of a meaningful social interaction between robots and people through employing degrees of anthropomorphism in a robot’s physical design and behaviour. As robots enter our social space, we will inherently project/impose our interpretation on their actions similar to the techniques we employ in rationalising, for example, a pet’s behaviour. This propensity to anthropomorphise is not seen as a hindrance to social robot development, but rather a useful mechanism that requires judicious examination and employment in social robot research.     

Evolutionary robotics: the Sussex approach

We give an overview of evolutionary robotics research at Sussex over the last five years. We explain and justify our distinctive approaches to (artificial) evolution, and to the nature of robot control systems that are evolved. Results are presented from research with evolved controllers for autonomous mobile robots, simulated robots, co-evolved animats, real robots with software controllers, and a real robot with a controller directly evolved in hardware.     

View planning in robot active vision: A survey of systems,algorithms, and applications

Computational Visual Media - Rapid development of artificial intelligence motivates researchers to expand the capabilities of intelligent and autonomous robots. In many robotic applications, robots...     

Sentience in robots: applications and challenges

The article provides views from researchers and practitioners directly involved with robotics applications to find out what they think about the applicability of this new generation of more adaptable and user-friendly robots. Aspects discussed include: personal robots in human societies; robot teams in urban search and rescue; space robots and natural language communication; representation and reasoning; and rationality and emotions.