Fuzzy optimisation based symbolic grounding for service robots

A thesis submitted to the University of Bedfordshire in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophySymbolic grounding is a bridge between task level planning and actual robot sensing and actuation. Uncertainties raised by unstructured environments make a bottleneck for integrating traditional artificial intelligence with service robotics. In this research, a fuzzy optimisation based symbolic grounding approach is presented. This approach can handle uncertainties and helps service robots to determine the most comfortable base region for grasping objects in a fetch and carry task. Novel techniques are applied to establish fuzzy objective function, to model fuzzy constraints and to perform fuzzy optimisation. The approach does not have the short comings of others’ work and the computation time is dramatically reduced in compare with other methods. The advantages of the proposed fuzzy optimisation based approach are evidenced by experiments that were undertaken in Care-O-bot 3 (COB 3) and Robot Operating System (ROS) platforms

Integrated Task and Motion Planning of Multi-Robot Manipulators in Industrial and Service Automation

Efficient coordination of several robot arms in order to carry out some given independent/cooperative tasks in a common workspace, avoiding collisions, is an appealing research problem that has been studied in different robotic fields, with industrial and service applications. Coordination of several robot arms in a shared environment is challenging because complexity of collision free path planning increases with the number of robots sharing the same workspace. Although research in different aspects of this problem such as task planning, motion planning and robot control has made great progress, the integration of these components is not well studied in the literature. This thesis focuses on integrating task and motion planning multi-robot-arm systems by introducing a practical and optimal interface layer for such systems. For a given set of speci fications and a sequence of tasks for a multi-arm system, the studied system design aims to automatically construct the necessary waypoints, the sequence of arms to be operated, and the algorithms required for the robots to reliably execute manipulation tasks. The contributions of the thesis are three-fold. First, an algorithm is introduced to integrate task and motion planning layers in order to achieve optimal and collision free task execution. Representation via shared space graph (SSG) is introduced to check whether two arms share certain parts of the workspace and to quantify cooperation of such arm pairs, which is essential in selection of arm sequence and scheduling of each arm in the sequence to perform a task or a sub-task. The introduced algorithm allows robots to autonomously reason about a structured environment, performs the sequence planning of robots to operate, and provides robots and objects path for each task to succeed a set of goals. Secondly, an integrated motion and task planning methodology is introduced for systems of multiple mobile and fixed base robot arms performing different tasks simultaneously in a shared workspace. We introduce concept of dynamic shared space graph (D-SSG) to continuously check whether two arms sharing certain parts of the workspace at different time steps and quantify cooperation of such arm pairs, which is essential to the selection of arm sequences and scheduling of each arm in the sequence to perform a task or a sub-task. The introduced algorithm allows robots to autonomously reason about complex human involving environments to plan the high level decisions (sequence planning) of robots to operate and calculates robots and objects path for each task to succeed a set of goals. The third contribution is design of an integration algorithm between low-level motion planning and high-level symbolic task planning layers to produce alternate plans in case of kinematic and geometric changes in the environment to prevent failure in the high-level task plan. In order to verify the methodological contributions of the thesis with a solid implementation basis, some implementations and tests are presented in the open-source robotics planning environments ROS, Moveit and Gazebo. Detailed analysis of these implementations and test results are provided as well

Fuzzy logic based symbolic grounding for best grasp pose for homecare robotics

Symbolic grounding in unstructured environments remains an important challenge in robotics [7]. Homecare robots are often required to be instructed by their human users intuitively, which means the robots are expected to take highlevel commands and execute corresponding tasks in a domestic environment. High-level commands are represented with symbolic terms such as “near” and “close” and, on the other hand, robots are controlled based on trajectories. The robots need to translate the symbolic terms to trajectories. In addition, domestic environment is unstructured where the same objects can be placed in different places over the time. This increases the difficulties in symbolic grounding. This paper presents a fuzzy logic based approach to symbolic grounding. In this approach, grounded concepts are modelled as fuzzy sets and the existing knowledge is used to deduce grounded values given real-time sensory inputs. Experiments results show that this approach works well in unstructured environment

Affective Computing

This book provides an overview of state of the art research in Affective Computing. It presents new ideas, original results and practical experiences in this increasingly important research field. The book consists of 23 chapters categorized into four sections. Since one of the most important means of human communication is facial expression, the first section of this book (Chapters 1 to 7) presents a research on synthesis and recognition of facial expressions. Given that we not only use the face but also body movements to express ourselves, in the second section (Chapters 8 to 11) we present a research on perception and generation of emotional expressions by using full-body motions. The third section of the book (Chapters 12 to 16) presents computational models on emotion, as well as findings from neuroscience research. In the last section of the book (Chapters 17 to 22) we present applications related to affective computing

Intelligent technologies for the aging brain: opportunities and challenges

Intelligent computing is rapidly reshaping healthcare. In light of the global burden of population aging and neurological disorders, dementia and elderly care are among the healthcare sectors that are most likely to benefit from this technological revolution. Trends in artificial intelligence, robotics, ubiquitous computing, neurotechnology and other branches of biomedical engineering are progressively enabling novel opportunities for technology-enhanced care. These Intelligent Assistive Technologies (IATs) open the prospects of supporting older adults with neurocognitive disabilities, maintain their independence, reduce the burden on caregivers and delay the need for long-term care (1, 2). While technology develops fast, yet little knowledge is available to patients and health professionals about the current availability, applicability, and capability of existing IATs. This thesis proposes a state-of-the-art analysis of IATs in dementia and elderly care. Our findings indicate that advances in intelligent technology are resulting in a rapidly expanding number and variety of assistive solutions for older adults and people with neurocognitive disabilities. However, our analysis identifies a number of challenges that negatively affect the optimal deployment and uptake of IATs among target users and care institutions. These include design issues, sub-optimal approaches to product development, translational barriers between lab and clinics, lack of adequate validation and implementation, as well as data security and cyber-risk weaknesses. Additionally, in virtue of their technological novelty, intelligent technologies raise a number of Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI). Therefore, a significant portion of this thesis is devoted to providing an early ethical Technology Assessment (eTA) of intelligent technology, hence contributing to preparing the terrain for its safe and ethically responsible adoption. This assessment is primarily focused on intelligent technologies at the human-machine interface, as these applications enable an unprecedented exposure of the intimate dimension of individuals to the digital infosphere. Issues of privacy, integrity, equality, and dual-use were addressed at the level of stakeholder analysis, normative ethics and human-rights law. Finally, this thesis is aimed at providing evidence-based recommendations for guiding participatory and responsible development in intelligent technology, and delineating governance strategies that maximize the clinical benefits of IATs for the aging world, while minimizing unintended risks

Second Generation General System Theory: Perspectives in Philosophy and Approaches in Complex Systems

Following the classical work of Norbert Wiener, Ross Ashby, Ludwig von Bertalanffy and many others, the concept of System has been elaborated in different disciplinary fields, allowing interdisciplinary approaches in areas such as Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Cognitive Science, Economics, Engineering, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Medicine, Artificial Intelligence, and Philosophy. The new challenge of Complexity and Emergence has made the concept of System even more relevant to the study of problems with high contextuality. This Special Issue focuses on the nature of new problems arising from the study and modelling of complexity, their eventual common aspects, properties and approaches—already partially considered by different disciplines—as well as focusing on new, possibly unitary, theoretical frameworks. This Special Issue aims to introduce fresh impetus into systems research when the possible detection and correction of mistakes require the development of new knowledge. This book contains contributions presenting new approaches and results, problems and proposals. The context is an interdisciplinary framework dealing, in order, with electronic engineering problems; the problem of the observer; transdisciplinarity; problems of organised complexity; theoretical incompleteness; design of digital systems in a user-centred way; reaction networks as a framework for systems modelling; emergence of a stable system in reaction networks; emergence at the fundamental systems level; behavioural realization of memoryless functions

Unmet goals of tracking: within-track heterogeneity of students' expectations for

Educational systems are often characterized by some form(s) of ability grouping, like tracking. Although substantial variation in the implementation of these practices exists, it is always the aim to improve teaching efficiency by creating homogeneous groups of students in terms of capabilities and performances as well as expected pathways. If students’ expected pathways (university, graduate school, or working) are in line with the goals of tracking, one might presume that these expectations are rather homogeneous within tracks and heterogeneous between tracks. In Flanders (the northern region of Belgium), the educational system consists of four tracks. Many students start out in the most prestigious, academic track. If they fail to gain the necessary credentials, they move to the less esteemed technical and vocational tracks. Therefore, the educational system has been called a 'cascade system'. We presume that this cascade system creates homogeneous expectations in the academic track, though heterogeneous expectations in the technical and vocational tracks. We use data from the International Study of City Youth (ISCY), gathered during the 2013-2014 school year from 2354 pupils of the tenth grade across 30 secondary schools in the city of Ghent, Flanders. Preliminary results suggest that the technical and vocational tracks show more heterogeneity in student’s expectations than the academic track. If tracking does not fulfill the desired goals in some tracks, tracking practices should be questioned as tracking occurs along social and ethnic lines, causing social inequality