Cognitive Robotics (Intelligent Robotics And Au...
- Thirty years of R&D experience in autonomous systems, developing novel adaptive, learning and evolvable hardware techniques and embedding them into electronics and intelligent information systems, for applications ranging from measurement equipment to space avionics to robotics.- Contributed pioneering work in new fields (humanoid learning by imitation, evolvable hardware, survivable self-reconfigurable electronics for extreme environments), invented new concepts (polymorphic electronics, cognitive anti-tamper techniques) and took them to hardware demonstration.- Recognized authority in adaptive and evolvable hardware- Over 150 papers, 7 awarded patents, founded several conferences (including the NASA/ESA conference on Adaptive Hardware and Systems), roles in IEEE (Program Chair 2011 IEEE Systems Man and Cybernetics, etc), plenary speaker at more than 10 international conferences, member Board of Governors, IEEE SMC-Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh, since 2004, current appointment till end of 2016- Visiting professor University of Essex, 2013-2015 (prior academic involvements include Assistant Professor University of Iasi, Romania, 1991-1992, Adjunct Professor University of Queensland, Australia, 2003-2006)- Member of various advisory and review boards for US government agencies, Canada, UK, Norway and European Commission. Was part of the European Commissions ISTAG Working Group on Future and Emerging Technologies (FET), which provided strategic advice and orientations on long term foundational research in the area of Information and Communication Technology.- NIAC Fellow (NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts): Transformers for Extreme Environments (shape-changing robots reflecting energy to create micro-environments around robotic or human explorers) Phase 1, 2013) and Phase 2, 2015); WindBots (Wind robots for exploration of gas giants) Phase 1, 2015
Cognitive Robotics (Intelligent Robotics and Au...
Hanson AI develops cognitive architecture and AI-based tools that enable our robots to simulate human personalities, have meaningful interactions with people and evolve from those interactions. Our team of renowned AI scientists conducts advanced research to build the most compelling robotics and AI platform for research, media, and service applications.
Cognitive Robotics concerns the use of Artificial Intelligence methods to allow an autonomous system to learn and reason about its environment and how to behave appropriately to achieve its goals. The robotics research group focuses mainly on the intelligent programming of robots, including developing novel machine learning techniques for perception, control and behaviours; computer vision systems for understanding human behaviour; human-robot interaction; architectures and high-level languages for cognitive robots; and how to make robot behaviour ethical, explainable and trustworthy. The robotics group works closely with the Creative Robotics Laboratory and iCinema, both in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture and with the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and has strong links with international collaborators around the world. Much of the research and training is driven by our participation in international competitions, such as RoboCup, where the group has won many awards, including five world championships in the robot soccer standard platform league. Experience from these competitions has led to industry collaborations in multi-agent systems, robots for recycling electronics, agriculture and mining, and the acquisition of human expertise in manufacturing.
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering.[1] Robotics involves the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrates fields of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, information engineering, mechatronics engineering, electronics, biomedical engineering, computer engineering, control systems engineering, software engineering, mathematics, etc.
Robotics develops machines that can substitute for humans and replicate human actions. Robots can be used in many situations for many purposes, but today many are used in dangerous environments (including inspection of radioactive materials, bomb detection and deactivation), manufacturing processes, or where humans cannot survive (e.g., in space, underwater, in high heat, and clean up and containment of hazardous materials and radiation). Robots can take any form, but some are made to resemble humans in appearance. This is claimed to help in the acceptance of robots in certain replicative behaviors which are usually performed by people. Such robots attempt to replicate walking, lifting, speech, cognition, or any other tasks mainly performed by a human. Many of today's robots are inspired by nature, contributing to the field of bio-inspired robotics.
Certain robots require user input to operate, while other robots function autonomously. The concept of creating robots that can operate autonomously dates back to classical times, but research into the functionality and potential uses of robots did not grow substantially until the 20th century. Throughout history, it has been frequently assumed by various scholars, inventors, engineers, and technicians that robots will one day be able to mimic human behavior and manage tasks in a human-like fashion. Today, robotics is a rapidly growing field, as technological advances continue; researching, designing, and building new robots serve various practical purposes, whether domestically, commercially, or militarily. Many robots are built to do jobs that are hazardous to people, such as defusing bombs, finding survivors in unstable ruins, and exploring mines and shipwrecks. Robotics is also used in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) as a teaching aid.[2]
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word robotics was first used in print by Isaac Asimov, in his science fiction short story "Liar!", published in May 1941 in Astounding Science Fiction. Asimov was unaware that he was coining the term; since the science and technology of electrical devices is electronics, he assumed robotics already referred to the science and technology of robots. In some of Asimov's other works, he states that the first use of the word robotics was in his short story Runaround (Astounding Science Fiction, March 1942),[4][5] where he introduced his concept of The Three Laws of Robotics. However, the original publication of "Liar!" predates that of "Runaround" by ten months, so the former is generally cited as the word's origin.
Various types of linear actuators move in and out instead of by spinning, and often have quicker direction changes, particularly when very large forces are needed such as with industrial robotics. They are typically powered by compressed and oxidized air (pneumatic actuator) or an oil (hydraulic actuator) Linear actuators can also be powered by electricity which usually consists of a motor and a leadscrew. Another common type is a mechanical linear actuator that is turned by hand, such as a rack and pinion on a car.
Other common forms of sensing in robotics use lidar, radar, and sonar.[69] Lidar measures distance to a target by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflected light with a sensor. Radar uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of objects. Sonar uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect objects on or under the surface of the water.
The state of the art in sensory intelligence for robots will have to progress through several orders of magnitude if we want the robots working in our homes to go beyond vacuum-cleaning the floors. If robots are to work effectively in homes and other non-industrial environments, the way they are instructed to perform their jobs, and especially how they will be told to stop will be of critical importance. The people who interact with them may have little or no training in robotics, and so any interface will need to be extremely intuitive. Science fiction authors also typically assume that robots will eventually be capable of communicating with humans through speech, gestures, and facial expressions, rather than a command-line interface. Although speech would be the most natural way for the human to communicate, it is unnatural for the robot. It will probably be a long time before robots interact as naturally as the fictional C-3PO, or Data of Star Trek, Next Generation. Even though the current state of robotics cannot meet the standards of these robots from science-fiction, robotic media characters (e.g., Wall-E, R2-D2) can elicit audience sympathies that increase people's willingness to accept actual robots in the future.[129] Acceptance of social robots is also likely to increase if people can meet a social robot under appropriate conditions. Studies have shown that interacting with a robot by looking at, touching, or even imagining interacting with the robot can reduce negative feelings that some people have about robots before interacting with them.[130] However, if pre-existing negative sentiments are especially strong, interacting with a robot can increase those negative feelings towards robots.[130]
Much of the research in robotics focuses not on specific industrial tasks, but on investigations into new types of robots, alternative ways to think about or design robots, and new ways to manufacture them. Other investigations, such as MIT's cyberflora project, are almost wholly academic.
There has been some research into whether robotics algorithms can be run more quickly on quantum computers than they can be run on digital computers. This area has been referred to as quantum robotics.[167]
Robotics engineers design robots, maintain them, develop new applications for them, and conduct research to expand the potential of robotics.[168] Robots have become a popular educational tool in some middle and high schools, particularly in parts of the USA,[169] as well as in numerous youth summer camps, raising interest in programming, artificial intelligence, and robotics among students. 041b061a72