Robotics

Why Robotics?

Practice

Promise

Why Robotics?

Vibrant field

Why Robotics?

A window to the soul...

Advances in AI and in Robotics are one and the same thing.

What is a robot?

What is a robot?

Battlescar the BattleBot

Ripley’s Exoskeleton

Al GoreUSC

helicopter

Rug Warrior

Self-guiding golf cart

MOVIT line follower

Sea-man

categorizing robotsA

bstr

acti

on

Autonomy

hardware

software

just is

human-controlled

independent

categorizing robotsA

bstr

acti

on

Autonomy

hardware

software

just is

human-controlled

independent

What is robotics?

Autonomous : Robot :: ________ : Mudder

Robot a physical system that autonomously senses the environment and acts in it.

Sleeping

Unicycling

Overworked

Robot timeline

...1921

Robot timeline

...1921 1950

Karl Capek

I, Robot

First Law:

A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law:

A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law:

A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics

Robot timeline

...1921 2020

Karl Capek

1950

I, Robot

Robot timeline

...1921 21502020

Karl Capek

Dalek

1950

I, Robot

Robot timeline

...1921 242121502020

Karl Capek

Dalek

1950

I, Robot

Real robot timeline

...1951

“Tortoise”

Shakey

Nils Nilsson @ Stanford Research Inst.

......1968

first “general-purpose” mobile platform

Shakey

Nils Nilsson @ Stanford Research Inst.

......1968

first “general-purpose” mobile platform

Living Room (L)

tvg

sp

Kitchen (K)

Bedroom (B)

sh tv

• Go(x,y)

Preconditions: At(sh,x)

Postconditions: At(sh,y)

• Push(obj,x,y)

Preconditions: At(sh,x) At(obj,x)

Postconditions: At(sh,y) At(obj,y)

Shakey Start

START

GOAL

ACTIONS

Go(L,B)

Go(L,K)

At(sh,L) At(sp,K) At(tvg,B) At(tv,L)

Push(tv,L,B)

Push(tv,L,K)

At(sh,K) At(sp,K) At(tvg,B) At(tv,K)

At(sh,L) At(sp,L) At(tvg,L) At(tv,L)

Stanford Cart

Hans Moravec @ SAIL

......1976

SEN

SIN

G

AC

TIN

G

perc

epti

on

worl

d

modelin

gpla

nnin

g

task

execu

tion

moto

r co

ntr

ol

“functional” task decomposition

Cartland

Insects

Rodney Brooks @ MIT

......1985

avoid objects

wander

explore

build maps

identify objects

planning and reasoning

SEN

SIN

G

AC

TIN

G“behavioral” task decomposition

Subsumption Architecture

runaway behavior

FSM / DFA

Subsumption Architecture

runaway behavior

wander behavior

FSM / DFA

Subsumption Architecture

runaway behavior

wander behavior

navigate behavior

FSM / DFA

Subsumption Architecture

Genghis in action!

Beyond subsumption

......1995

Polly Navlab & ALVINN