An overview of RoboCup-2002 Fukuoka/Busan

© 2003, American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This article reports on the Sixth Robot World Cup Competition and Conference (RoboCup-2002) Fukuoka/Busan, which took place from 19 to 25 June in Fukuoka, Japan. It was the largest RoboCup since 1997 and held the first humanoid league competition in the world. Further, the first ROBOTREX (robot trade and exhibitions) was held with about 50 companies, universities, and institutes represented. A total of 117,000 spectators witnessed this marvelous event, To the best of our knowledge, this was the largest robotic event in history.Peer reviewe

Multi-Objective Optimization for Speed and Stability of a Sony Aibo Gait

Locomotion is a fundamental facet of mobile robotics that many higher level aspects rely on. However, this is not a simple problem for legged robots with many degrees of freedom. For this reason, machine learning techniques have been applied to the domain. Although impressive results have been achieved, there remains a fundamental problem with using most machine learning methods. The learning algorithms usually require a large dataset which is prohibitively hard to collect on an actual robot. Further, learning in simulation has had limited success transitioning to the real world. Also, many learning algorithms optimize for a single fitness function, neglecting many of the effects on other parts of the system. As part of the RoboCup 4-legged league, many researchers have worked on increasing the walking/gait speed of Sony AIBO robots. Recently, the effort shifted from developing a quick gait, to developing a gait that also provides a stable sensing platform. However, to date, optimization of both velocity and camera stability has only occurred using a single fitness function that incorporates the two objectives with a weighting that defines the desired tradeoff between them. However, the true nature of this tradeoff is not understood because the pareto front has never been charted, so this a priori decision is uninformed. This project applies the Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) to find a pareto set of fast, stable gait parameters. This allows a user to select the best tradeoff between balance and speed for a given application. Three fitness functions are defined: one speed measure and two stability measures. A plot of evolved gaits shows a pareto front that indicates speed and stability are indeed conflicting goals. Interestingly, the results also show that tradeoffs also exist between different measures of stability

Applying reinforcement learning in playing Robosoccer using the AIBO

"Robosoccer is a popular test bed for AI programs around the world in which AIBO entertainments robots take part in the middle sized soccer event. These robots need a variety of skills to perform in a semi-real environment like this. The three key challenges are manoeuvrability, image recognition and decision making skills. This research is focussed on the decision making skills ... The work focuses on whether reinforcement learning as a form of semi supervised learning can effectively contribute to the goal keeper's decision making when a shot is taken." -Master of Computing (by research

Evolutionäre Algorithmen zur Optimierung von Modellen für laufende Roboter

Die Dissertation befasst sich mit der Modellierung und Optimierung von Laufbewegungen für zwei- und vierbeinige Roboter. Es werden parametrierbare Modelle für die Generierung von Laufbewegungen für zwei- und vierbeinige Roboter aufgestellt. Anschließend wird vorgestellt, wie Roboter mithilfe der Laufmodelle und dem Einsatz von Evolutionären Algorithmen autonom das Laufen erlernen. Zur Reduktion der benötigten Trainingsläufe werden verschiedene modellgestützte Evolutionsstrategien untersucht und eingesetzt. Da zur Beurteilung der Verfahren zahlreiche Optimierungsläufe notwendig sind, wird darüber hinaus präsentiert, wie ein physikalischer Robotersimulator lernt, sich möglichst so zu bewegen wie der reale Roboter

Multi-robot coordination using flexible setplays : applications in RoboCup's simulation and middle-size leagues

Tese de Doutoramento. Engenharia Informática. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201