Cooperative Material Handling by Human and Robotic Agents:Module Development and System Synthesis

In this paper we present the results of a collaborative effort to design and implement a system for cooperative material handling by a small team of human and robotic agents in an unstructured indoor environment. Our approach makes fundamental use of human agents\u27 expertise for aspects of task planning, task monitoring, and error recovery. Our system is neither fully autonomous nor fully teleoperated. It is designed to make effective use of human abilities within the present state of the art of autonomous systems. It is designed to allow for and promote cooperative interaction between distributed agents with various capabilities and resources. Our robotic agents refer to systems which are each equipped with at least one sensing modality and which possess some capability for self-orientation and/or mobility. Our robotic agents are not required to be homogeneous with respect to either capabilities or function. Our research stresses both paradigms and testbed experimentation. Theory issues include the requisite coordination principles and techniques which are fundamental to the basic functioning of such a cooperative multi-agent system. We have constructed a testbed facility for experimenting with distributed multi-agent architectures. The required modular components of this testbed are currently operational and have been tested individually. Our current research focuses on the integration of agents in a scenario for cooperative material handling

Equational and Rule-Based Programming: Visualization, Reliability, and Knowledge Base Generation

This document describes developing an environment for effective use of functional/equational programs and rule-based expert systems. There are significant advantages in using these paradigms for reliability, parallelism, and accumulation of expertise in knowledge bases. The environment will make it easier to understand and use these paradigms, construct more reliable systems, and automatically enrich rule-based knowledge bases with the expertise. It will consist of the following components: (1) Visualization: for composing systems using a graphical interface and for understanding of algorithms. (2) Consistency Checking: for an equational and a rule-based language in accordance with the semantics of the languages. (3) Knowledge Base Generation and Testing: a translator that extracts expertise from existing programs and accumulates it as rules in knowledge bases; the rules are tested to enhance reliability. (4) Verification: interactive heterogeneous reasoning that consists of equational reasoning based on visual and textual information. These tools will be integrated in the proposed environment. The environment will greatly reduce the costs and increase the reliability of functional/equational and rule-based systems

Proceedings of the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics, volume 2

These proceedings contain papers presented at the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics held in Pasadena, January 31 to February 2, 1989. The theme of the Conference was man-machine collaboration in space. The Conference provided a forum for researchers and engineers to exchange ideas on the research and development required for application of telerobotics technology to the space systems planned for the 1990s and beyond. The Conference: (1) provided a view of current NASA telerobotic research and development; (2) stimulated technical exchange on man-machine systems, manipulator control, machine sensing, machine intelligence, concurrent computation, and system architectures; and (3) identified important unsolved problems of current interest which can be dealt with by future research

Robot Manipulators

Robot manipulators are developing more in the direction of industrial robots than of human workers. Recently, the applications of robot manipulators are spreading their focus, for example Da Vinci as a medical robot, ASIMO as a humanoid robot and so on. There are many research topics within the field of robot manipulators, e.g. motion planning, cooperation with a human, and fusion with external sensors like vision, haptic and force, etc. Moreover, these include both technical problems in the industry and theoretical problems in the academic fields. This book is a collection of papers presenting the latest research issues from around the world

EXPLORING THE PHENOMENON OF SELF-MUTILATION AMONG ADULT MALES IN A CORRECTIONAL SETTING: A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE INQUIRY

The overall aim of this mixed method inquiry was to increase understanding of self-mutilation by adult males in a correctional setting. This study explored the self-mutilating attributes such as type and motivational factors, to identify factors associated with self-mutilation among adult males in a correctional setting. Self-mutilation has classically been associated with adolescents and females; however, behind the walls of many correctional institutions, adult males are engaging in self-mutilating behavior. Self-mutilation by this population can have serious health consequences, impact the safety of the institution, and also have fiscal consequences. While this remains a serious forensic issue, there is a paucity of research concerning the types and extent of self-mutilation behaviors and the motivating factors linked with these behaviors in men (Favazza, 1996; Groves, 1993; Jeglic, Vanderhoff & Donovick, 2005; & Shea, 1993). A mixed method triangulation design was chosen for this study. The initial phase of the study was quantitative, using two instruments: the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory (DSHI) that measures sixteen different types and frequency, and the Self-Injury Motivational Scale (SIMS) that measures six different motivational factors. The second phase used a visual ethnographic approach that integrated a photo-elicitation technique. The sample consisted of forty-two males age 20 to 50 years and was drawn from the New Mexico Department of Corrections level I-III. The sample was ethnically 40% Hispanic, with Race 76% white. All participants completed both phases of the investigation. Fifteen of the 16 forms of self-mutilation were endorsed by at least one of the participants. Using the DSHI, the most predominant type of SM reported was cutting, followed by head banging and sticking self with sharp objects. Thirty-nine of the 42 participants required medical attention or hospitalization due to self-mutilation behaviors. Thirty nine (93%) reported engaging in cutting\u27 in a combined sample total (lifetime events) of 2,746 times with one individual reporting having cut over 700 times in his life time. Motivational factors associated with \u27cutting\u27 were predominantly mood dysregulation, communication and addictive quality. With the merged data, the motivational factor identified as a key impetus for self-mutilation behaviors was mood modulation

Seventh Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 1993), volume 1

This document contains papers presented at the Space Operations, Applications and Research Symposium (SOAR) Symposium hosted by NASA/Johnson Space Center (JSC) on August 3-5, 1993, and held at JSC Gilruth Recreation Center. SOAR included NASA and USAF programmatic overview, plenary session, panel discussions, panel sessions, and exhibits. It invited technical papers in support of U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Department of Energy, NASA, and USAF programs in the following areas: robotics and telepresence, automation and intelligent systems, human factors, life support, and space maintenance and servicing. SOAR was concerned with Government-sponsored research and development relevant to aerospace operations. More than 100 technical papers, 17 exhibits, a plenary session, several panel discussions, and several keynote speeches were included in SOAR '93

Proceedings of the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics, volume 5

Papers presented at the NASA Conference on Space Telerobotics are compiled. The theme of the conference was man-machine collaboration in space. The conference provided a forum for researchers and engineers to exchange ideas on the research and development required for the application of telerobotics technology to the space systems planned for the 1990's and beyond. Volume 5 contains papers related to the following subject areas: robot arm modeling and control, special topics in telerobotics, telerobotic space operations, manipulator control, flight experiment concepts, manipulator coordination, issues in artificial intelligence systems, and research activities at the Johnson Space Center

Fourth Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 90)

The proceedings of the SOAR workshop are presented. The technical areas included are as follows: Automation and Robotics; Environmental Interactions; Human Factors; Intelligent Systems; and Life Sciences. NASA and Air Force programmatic overviews and panel sessions were also held in each technical area