Comp 3104 2009 1

Sojourner 1996

MIT Kismet

Honda Asimo 2003

NavLab (CMU)

Why Study Robots now?

Comp 3104 2009 2

Figure from ROBOT, Moravec, Oxford, 1998, Chapter 3: Power and Presence, page 68

AI

Moore’s Law - Computers and Brains

Comp 3104 2009 3

1. Robots are becoming commercially viable – need developers

2. Serious promise of Artificial Intelligence – needs researchers

3. Fundamental aspects :

1. Good vehicle for teaching programming …

2. Important analogy of each living being … the Self

3. Important analogy of societies … Communication

Why learn to program with Robots ?

N.B. we are thinking of Autonomous Robots

Comp 3104 2009 4

Comp 3104 2009 5

Human

Human Group

Robot

Robot Group

Comp 3104 2009 6

Affective Cognitive Psychomotoric

Human Qualities

FeelingsFeelings

Knowing

Knowing

EmotionsEmotions

ActingActing

Behaving

Behaving

ThinkingThinking

Comp 3104 2009 7

Wander

Behaviour Modules

SearchLight

Collision Idea is to split overal desired behaviour into a number of “modules” of program code which can run independently.

These may be arranged to have priorities

Comp 3104 2009 8

Rod Brookes + Cogs

Comp 3104 2009 9

Subsumption (Brookes)

Wander

s

Searchlight

Collide

s

s Motors

eyes

bumper

Behaviour Modules Combine by subsumption

Combining Behaviours

Comp 3104 2009 10

Motorssensors

Behaviour 1

Behaviour 2

Behaviour 3 s

s

s

(Autonomous Land Vehicle)

Internalized

Plans

There IS a global map !

DARPA ALV

Comp 3104 2009 11

Braitenberg (1984), Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology, MIT Press.

Comp 3104 2009 12

lamp

RM

LM

Choice of Behaviour

Braitenberg Vehicles

Wander

Collide

SearchLight

CPU

Braitenberg

Comp 3104 2009 13

public void wander() { forever { wander_flag = true; wanderOpL = 10; wanderOpR = 10; muMonDefer(); } }

lamp

RM

LM

Behaviour Routines

Java Behaviour Routines

public void searchlight() { forever { if(eyeLF > eyeRF) { searchlight_flag = true; searchlightOpR = ??; searchlightOpL = ??; muMonSleep(100); searchlight_flag = false; } if(eyeLF > 0) {

eyeRF

eyeLF

Braitenberg

Comp 3104 2009 14

If the connections are not crossed, then it turns away from excitation – coward

Ipsilateral excitation

Two motors Two Dimensions

Comp 3104 2009 15

Uncrossed inhibitory connections (note the –sign) give ipsilateral inhibition:

Turns towards the light and slows down as it gets close

Comp 3104 2009 16

Brood Sorting The Emergence of Intelligence

Martijn Schut http://www.cs.vu.nl/~zos

robotpuck

Comp 3104 2009 17

Program the Robots explicitly to

• find an object

• take an object

• go back to cluster

• find a cluster

• drop an object

• How to do the programming ?

• Imagine doing the clearing up yourself !Problem is to get one (or more) autonomous robots to clear the junk into heaps …

Comp 3104 2009 18

Alternative

Program the robots to avoid things

Comp 3104 2009 19

Conclusions :

• Behaviour Emerges !

• Intelligence in the Indivudal or Group ?

Comp 3104 2009 20

• Messor Sancta ants

• 1,500 corpses

• 26 hours

• Put dead ants into graveyards by walking around bumping into them

Comp 3104 2009 21

Simulation

Sony Dog

MidSize

SmallSize

Humanoide

• Football as benchmark for AI advances

• Worldwide competitions since 1997

• Current Leagues

Comp 3104 2009 22