Autonomous Robots

CS 393R

Professor: Peter Stone

TA: Katie Genter
 Robots

Slides Courtesy of
Benjamin Kuipers
Robots
Robots
 What is a robot?
• A robot is an
intelligent system that Robot
interacts with the
physical environment sensors effectors
through sensors and
effectors.
Environment
– Program module?
– Web crawling ‘bot?
Slide by Manuela
Veloso (on web)
 Is a human a robot?
• By our definition, yes.
– Humans interact with a complex physical
environment via sensors and effectors.
– We are not artificially manufactured, of course!

• Does this diminish humans? No!

– Understanding the difficulties of robotics helps
us appreciate how amazing humans are.
 We will study robots that …

• … function in (mostly) unmodified human

environments.
– (Well, in soccer fields, anyway.)

• … that use, and perhaps even learn, useful

models of the environment.
– They have knowledge, and act on it.
 What makes a good model
of the environment?
• A good model is a simplified description of
the environment such that …
– If the robot orients itself in the model,
– and makes a plan using the model,
– and executes that plan in the real environment,
– then the plan has its intended effect.
 What will we do in this course?
• Our goal is to learn
some methods for Robot
implementing this
interactive loop. sensors effectors

• We will spend a few Environment

weeks each on topics
that often get entire
graduate courses.
 Subject Material Areas
• Motion and Control (action)
– PID control, open/closed loop control, action modeling, walking, ...

• Sensing and Perception (perception)

– Range sensing, vision, filtering, sensor modeling, ...

• Decision Making (cognition)

– Behavior architectures, planning, AI, developmental psychology, ...
 Major Topics and Projects
• What is robotics? • “Hello, World!” (9/8)
• Control theory • Motor control (9/22)
• Observers and tracking • Kalman filter (10/6)
• Localization • Localization (10/20)
• Vision • Vision (11/3)
• Behavior • Final projects (11/29)
– Proposal (10/27)
• Applications
– Literature survey (11/10)
• Social implications – Demonstration (12/1)

Official Syllabus online

 Control Laws and Behaviors
• Rules for behaving in a qualitatively uniform
environment.
– Following walls, seeking open space or targets.
• Rich theory based on differential equations
and dynamical systems.
• Reality outside the model is treated as noise.
• Compose multiple control laws to make
behaviors.
• Task: Approach and kick a ball to a target.
 Observers
• Sensors don’t sense the world directly.
– They just respond to its stimulation.
• By gathering lots of sensor input over time,
we can estimate what the world is like.
• Assumes models of the nature of the world,
and of sensor properties, such as error
types.
• Task: Implement Kalman Filters to track
and block a rolling ball.
 Social Implications
• Robots may change our world dramatically
– How? For better? Or for worse?
• Science fiction writers have thought about a
lot of important possibilities.
• We will read and discuss a few.
– Brief discussion. Few conclusions.
– Questions are more important than answers.
 Robot Lab Assignments
• There are five robot lab assignments.
– Due every two weeks.

• You demonstrate the techniques taught in class.

– “In theory, there’s no difference between theory
and practice, but in practice, there is.”
 Robot Assignments 1, 2, 3
• Students will work in teams.
– Each team has two people.
– A single grade for each team.

• Each team has one physical robot – an Aibo.

– These are expensive, fragile, and irreplaceable!
– Take care of them!
 Robot Assignments 4, 5
• Under revision – will use the Nao robots

• Probably still in pairs

• Some parts in simulation – may be done

individually.

• Localization and vision.

The 1st robot:
Sony AIBO
• Several sensors
• 20 degrees of
freedom
• Onboard
computing
 Entertainment Robot System 7
• Sony designed the AIBO as an entertainment
robot, with sophisticated built-in behaviors.
– We won’t be using those.
– You are welcome to explore them, but that’s not
part of the course.
• We are using the AIBO as a platform for
implementing robotic capabilities.
 Technical Details
• CPU: 64 bit RISC • Image input:
– 64 mb RAM – 350,000 pixel CMOS
• LAN: 802.11b camera

• Degrees of freedom: • Stereo microphones

– Head: 3 dof • Infrared distance x 2
– Mouth 1 dof • Acceleration
– Legs: 3 dof x 4 • Vibration
– Ears: 1 dof x 2 • Touch: head, back,
– Tail: 2 dof chin, paw
 Shooting and Blocking

Past year's example videos...

 What Assignments Require
• The point of the assignments is to implement the
methods taught in class.
• To turn in an assignment:
– Demonstrate the behavior to Katie before the due date.
– Each team hands in a clear, concise memo describing the
problem, your approach, and your results.
• Append the code.
– The memo describes the role of each individual on the
team in accomplishing this assignment.
• We will discuss each assignment in class on the due
date.
– Some teams will be selected to demonstrate the robots.
– No assignments accepted after that class meeting.
 Working in Teams
• One of the goals of this course is to give
you experience at working in teams.
– Robot assignments 1, 2, and 3 – likely 4 & 5.
• Your team can be stronger than any one
individual, but it is also vulnerable.
• You are responsible for working effectively
with your team
– not just for doing your own job, but also
– for helping the team work well together.
 Final Projects
• Research one topic in greater depth.
• Select a research goal (suggestions to be
provided).
• Survey the related literature.
• Implement a prototype system and/or
experiment.
• Describe in detail what you did, how it worked
out, what alternative approaches were.
 Grading
• Robot Assignments • Reading responses
– Hello, World! (10%) – Due night before class
– Kicking (10%) – (10%)
– Tracking (10%)
– Localization (10%)
– Vision (10%) • Projects (30%)
– Proposal
• These are never
– Literature
accepted late! – Presentation
– Report
• Participation (10%)
 This class is a lot of work.
• Robotics includes many different concepts.
– Control theory, logic, probability, search, etc.
• Abstraction barriers are very strong in most
of Computer Science, but weak in Robotics.
– Programs are vulnerable to sensor and motor
glitches.
• Plan ahead, to put the time in to this course.
– Your team will be depending on you.
 Robotics
• The topic is fundamentally important
scientifically and technologically.
– Building intelligent agents
– Modeling the phenomenon of mind
• It will be very demanding on all of us.
– Be prepared, and start work early.
• It’s also very exciting and lots of fun!
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