Anchoring Knowledge in Interaction: Towards a Harmonic Subsymbolic/Symbolic Framework and Architecture of Computational Cognition

We outline a proposal for a research program leading to a new paradigm, architectural framework, and prototypical implementation, for the cognitively inspired anchoring of an agent’s learning, knowledge formation, and higher reasoning abilities in real-world interactions: Learning through interaction in real-time in a real environment triggers the incremental accumulation and repair of knowledge that leads to the formation of theories at a higher level of abstraction. The transformations at this higher level filter down and inform the learning process as part of a permanent cycle of learning through experience, higher-order deliberation, theory formation and revision. The envisioned framework will provide a precise computational theory, algorithmic descriptions, and an implementation in cyber-physical systems, addressing the lifting of action patterns from the subsymbolic to the symbolic knowledge level, effective methods for theory formation, adaptation, and evolution, the anchoring of knowledge-level objects, real-world interactions and manipulations, and the realization and evaluation of such a system in different scenarios. The expected results can provide new foundations for future agent architectures, multi-agent systems, robotics, and cognitive systems, and can facilitate a deeper understanding of the development and interaction in human-technological settings

Towards a cloud‑based automated surveillance system using wireless technologies

Cloud Computing can bring multiple benefits for Smart Cities. It permits the easy creation of centralized knowledge bases, thus straightforwardly enabling that multiple embedded systems (such as sensor or control devices) can have a collaborative, shared intelligence. In addition to this, thanks to its vast computing power, complex tasks can be done over low-spec devices just by offloading computation to the cloud, with the additional advantage of saving energy. In this work, cloud’s capabilities are exploited to implement and test a cloud-based surveillance system. Using a shared, 3D symbolic world model, different devices have a complete knowledge of all the elements, people and intruders in a certain open area or inside a building. The implementation of a volumetric, 3D, object-oriented, cloud-based world model (including semantic information) is novel as far as we know. Very simple devices (orange Pi) can send RGBD streams (using kinect cameras) to the cloud, where all the processing is distributed and done thanks to its inherent scalability. A proof-of-concept experiment is done in this paper in a testing lab with multiple cameras connected to the cloud with 802.11ac wireless technology. Our results show that this kind of surveillance system is possible currently, and that trends indicate that it can be improved at a short term to produce high performance vigilance system using low-speed devices. In addition, this proof-of-concept claims that many interesting opportunities and challenges arise, for example, when mobile watch robots and fixed cameras would act as a team for carrying out complex collaborative surveillance strategies.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad TEC2016-77785-PJunta de Andalucía P12-TIC-130

Strategy planning for collaborative humanoid soccer robots based on principle solution

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11740-012-0416-4[EN] Collaborative humanoid soccer robots are currently under the lime light in the rapidly advancing research area of multi-robot systems. With new functionalities of software and hardware, they are becoming more versatile, robust and agile in response to the changes in the environment under dynamic conditions. This work focuses on a new approach for strategy planning of humanoid soccer robot teams as in the RoboCup Standard Platform League. The key element of the approach is a holistic system model of the principle solution encompassing various strategies of a soccer robot team. The benefits of the model-based approach are twofold¿it enables intuitive behavioral specification of the humanoid soccer robots in line with the team strategies envisaged by the system developers, and it systematizes the realization of their collaborative behaviors based on the principle solution. The principle solution is modeled with the newly developed specification technique CONSENS for the conceptual design of mechatronic and self-optimizing systems.The specification technique CONSENS was developed in the course of the Collaborative Research Center 614 ‘‘Self-Optimizing Concepts and Structures in Mechanical Engineering’’ funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under grant number SFB 614. The first two authors are funded by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under the grant number 600-RMI/ST/ FRGS 5/3/Fst (256/2010) and 600-RMI/ERGS 5/3 (23/2011).Low, CY.; Aziz, N.; Aldemir, M.; Dumitrescu, R.; Anacker, H.; Mellado Arteche, M. (2013). Strategy planning for collaborative humanoid soccer robots based on principle solution. Production Engineering. 7(1):23-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11740-012-0416-4S233471Asada M, Kitano H (1999) The RoboCup challenge. Rob Auton Syst 29:3–12Spaan MTJ, Groen FCA (2002) Team coordination through roles, positioning and coordinated procedures. RoboCupLau N, Lopes LS, Corrente G, Nelson F (2009) Multi-robot team coordination through roles, positionings and coordinated procedures. In: 2009 IEEE/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems, October 11–15, St. Louis, USAIocchi L, Nardi D, Piaggo M, Sgorbissa A (2003) Distributed coordination in heterogeneous multi-robot systems. Auton Robots 15:155–168Almeida F, Lau N, Reis LP (2010) A survey on coordination methodologies for simulated robotic soccer teams, multi-agent logics, languages, and organisations federated workshops (MALLOW 2010). Lyon, FranceLückel J, Hestermeyer T, Liu-Henke X (2001) Generalization of the Cascade principle in view of structured form of mechatronic systems. In: IEEE/ASME international conference on advanced intelligent mechatronics (AIM 2001), Villa Olmo, Como, ItalyInternational Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) (2007) Systems engineering vision 2020. Incose-TP-2004-004-02, SeptemberGausemeier J, Frank U, Donoth J, Kahl S (2009) Specification technique for the description of self-optimizing mechatronic systems. Res Eng Des 20(4):201–223Cyberbotics Ltd., Webots overview. 20 September 2012 at http://www.cyberbotics.com/overviewBirkhofer H (1980) Analyse und Synthese der FunktionenTechnischerProdukte. Dissertation, TechnischeUniversitätBraunschweigLanglotz G (2000) Ein Beitrag zur Funktionsstrukturentwicklung Innovativer Produkte. Dissertation, Institut fuerr Rechneranwendung in Planung und Konstruktion, Universitaet Karlsruhe, Shaker-Verlag, Band 2/2000, AachenPostel J (1980) User Datagram Protocol. RFC 760, USC/Information Sciences Institut

Business Case and Technology Analysis for 5G Low Latency Applications

A large number of new consumer and industrial applications are likely to change the classic operator's business models and provide a wide range of new markets to enter. This article analyses the most relevant 5G use cases that require ultra-low latency, from both technical and business perspectives. Low latency services pose challenging requirements to the network, and to fulfill them operators need to invest in costly changes in their network. In this sense, it is not clear whether such investments are going to be amortized with these new business models. In light of this, specific applications and requirements are described and the potential market benefits for operators are analysed. Conclusions show that operators have clear opportunities to add value and position themselves strongly with the increasing number of services to be provided by 5G.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

Soft-bodied adaptive multimodal locomotion strategies in fluid-filled confined spaces

Soft-bodied locomotion in fluid-filled confined spaces is critical for future wireless medical robots operating inside vessels, tubes, channels, and cavities of the human body, which are filled with stagnant or flowing biological fluids. However, the active soft-bodied locomotion is challenging to achieve when the robot size is comparable with the cross-sectional dimension of these confined spaces. Here, we propose various control and performance enhancement strategies to let the sheet-shaped soft millirobots achieve multimodal locomotion, including rolling, undulatory crawling, undulatory swimming, and helical surface crawling depending on different fluid-filled confined environments. With these locomotion modes, the sheet-shaped soft robot can navigate through straight or bent gaps with varying sizes, tortuous channels, and tubes with a flowing fluid inside. Such soft robot design along with its control and performance enhancement strategies are promising to be applied in future wireless soft medical robots inside various fluid-filled tight regions of the human body