Towards human control of robot swarms

In this paper we investigate principles of swarm control that enable a human operator to exert influence on and control large swarms of robots. We present two principles, coined selection and beacon control, that differ with respect to their temporal and spatial persistence. The former requires active selection of groups of robots while the latter exerts a passive influence on nearby robots. Both principles are implemented in a testbed in which operators exert influence on a robot swarm by switching between a set of behaviors ranging from trivial behaviors up to distributed autonomous algorithms. Performance is tested in a series of complex foraging tasks in environments with different obstacles ranging from open to cluttered and structured. The robotic swarm has only local communication and sensing capabilities with the number of robots ranging from 50 to 200. Experiments with human operators utilizing either selection or beacon control are compared with each other and to a simple autonomous swarm with regard to performance, adaptation to complex environments, and scalability to larger swarms. Our results show superior performance of autonomous swarms in open environments, of selection control in complex environments, and indicate a potential for scaling beacon control to larger swarms

Workload modeling using time windows and utilization in an air traffic control task

In this paper, we show how to assess human workload for continuous tasks and describe how operator performance is affected by variations in break-work intervals and by different utilizations. A study was conducted examining the effects of different break-work intervals and utilization as a factor in a mental workload model. We investigated the impact of operator performance on operational error while performing continuous event-driven air traffic control tasks with multiple aircraft. To this end we have developed a simple air traffic control (ATC) model aimed at distributing breaks to form different configurations with the same utilization. The presented approach extends prior concepts of workload and utilization, which are based on a simple average utilization, and considers the specific patterns of break-work intervals. Copyright 2011 by Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Inc. All rights reserved

Two-Pion Exchange Currents in Photodisintegration of the Deuteron

Chiral effective field theory (ChEFT) is a modern framework to analyze the properties of few-nucleon systems at low energies. It is based on the most general effective Lagrangian for pions and nucleons consistent with the chiral symmetry of QCD. For energies below the pion-production threshold it is possible to eliminate the pionic degrees of freedom and derive nuclear potentials and nuclear current operators solely in terms of the nucleonic degrees of freedom. This is very important because, despite a lot of experience gained in the past, the consistency between two-nucleon forces, many-nucleon forces and the corresponding current operators has not been achieved yet. In this presentation we consider the recently derived long-range two-pion exchange (TPE) contributions to the nuclear current operator which appear at next-to leading order of the chiral expansion. These operators do not contain any free parameters. We study their role in the deuteron photodisintegration reaction and compare our predictions with experimental data. The bound and scattering states are calculated using five different chiral N2LO nucleon-nucleon (NN) potentials which allows to estimate the theoretical uncertainty at a given order in the chiral expansion. For some observables the results are very close to the reference predictions based on the AV18 NN potential and the current operator (partly) consistent with this force.Comment: Contribution to the 12th International Conference on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon (MENU2010), Williamsburg, USA, May 31-June 4, 201

Human Swarm Interaction: An Experimental Study of Two Types of Interaction with Foraging Swarms

In this paper we present the first study of human-swarm interaction comparing two fundamental types of interaction, coined intermittent and environmental. These types are exemplified by two control methods, selection and beacon control, made available to a human operator to control a foraging swarm of robots. Selection and beacon control differ with respect to their temporal and spatial influence on the swarm and enable an operator to generate different strategies from the basic behaviors of the swarm. Selection control requires an active selection of groups of robots while beacon control exerts an influence on nearby robots within a set range. Both control methods are implemented in a testbed in which operators solve an information foraging problem by utilizing a set of swarm behaviors. The robotic swarm has only local communication and sensing capabilities. The number of robots in the swarm range from 50 to 200. Operator performance for each control method is compared in a series of missions in different environments with no obstacles up to cluttered and structured obstacles. In addition, performance is compared to simple and advanced autonomous swarms. Thirty-two participants were recruited for participation in the study. Autonomous swarm algorithms were tested in repeated simulations. Our results showed that selection control scales better to larger swarms and generally outperforms beacon control. Operators utilized different swarm behaviors with different frequency across control methods, suggesting an adaptation to different strategies induced by choice of control method. Simple autonomous swarms outperformed human operators in open environments, but operators adapted better to complex environments with obstacles. Human controlled swarms fell short of task-specific benchmarks under all conditions. Our results reinforce the importance of understanding and choosing appropriate types of human-swarm interaction when designing swarm systems, in addition to choosing appropriate swarm behaviors

Loretto Waltz

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/2096/thumbnail.jp

Marche Lyrique

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/2683/thumbnail.jp

Two Flowers : Zwei Blumen

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/1965/thumbnail.jp

Dynamiken deklarativer Gedächtnisleistungen vom Säuglings- zum Kleinkindalter

Deferred imitations assess declarative memory in infants. Many cross-sectional and a few longitudinal studies revealed that, with development, infants learn faster,and retain more target actions over longer retention intervals. Longitudinal stabilities are modest and increase through the second year. To date, there are only few multivariate deferred imitation studies pointing to interactions between declarative memory, language and self-development. However, as these studies applied variable-centered data analysis approaches, the individual stance was not taken into account.Therefore, the present dissertation focuses on the explanation of inter-individual differences of deferred imitation through the second year. In the multivariate, longitudinal Frankfurt Memory Study (FRAMES), declarative memory (deferred imitation), non-declarative memory (train task), as well as cognitive, language, motor, social, emotional and body self-awareness development (Developmental Test for 6-month- to 6-year-olds, ET6-6) were assessed on three measurement occasions (12-, 18- and 24-month-olds). From a psychometric perspective, sound tests for the assessment of deferred imitation in the respective age groups were developed (Paper 1 & 2). Reliability analyses (Paper 3) indicated relatively high short-term-stability for the deferred imitation test (12-month-olds). The co-development of declarative and nondeclarative memory in 12- and 18-month-olds provided evidence for discriminative validity (Paper 4). Longitudinally, deferred imitation performance tremendously increased throughout the second year, and performance was moderately stable between 12 and 18 months and stability increased between 18 and 24 months. Using a person-centered analysis approach (relative difference scores; cluster analysis), developmental subgroups were extracted out of the total sample. These groups differed in terms of mean growth and stability. However, between the first and second measurement occasion, the groups did not differ with respect to motor, cognitive and language development (Paper 5). Using the data of three measurement occasions, subgroups were extracted showing significant differences with respect to language, motor and body self-awareness development (Paper 6). The results are discussed against the background of infancy development theories.Seit den Studien zur Imitation von Gesichtsgesten von Meltzoff und Moore (1977) gilt Imitationslernen als bedeutender Lernmechanismus bei Säuglingen. Mit fortschreitender Entwicklung, spätestens ab dem 6. Lebensmonat, werden zudem verzögerte Imitationen beobachtet. Zur Messung dieser Fähigkeit werden Säuglingen neuartige Objekte und dazugehörige Handlungen präsentiert und nach einer Verzögerungsphase (Stunden, Tage, Wochen) wird das handlungsbezogene Verhalten der Säuglinge beobachtet. Querschnittstudien zur Verzögerten Imitation haben gezeigt, dass Säuglinge und Kleinkinder mit zunehmendem Alter mehr Items enkodieren, die Lerngeschwindigkeit zunimmt sowie das Retentionsintervall ansteigt. In den bisher vorliegenden Längsschnittstudien zeigten sich ansteigende Leistungen des deklarativen Gedächtnisses im Entwicklungsverlauf sowie moderate Stabilitäten. Die wenigen multivariaten Längs- sowie Querschnittstudien deuten darauf hin, dass sowohl Sprache als auch das Selbst als wichtige Korrelate deklarativer Gedächtnisleistungen in Frage kommen. Die vorliegende Arbeit widmet sich daher im Rahmen eines multivariaten Längsschnittdesigns der Frage nach inter-individuellen Differenzen intra-individueller Veränderungen der Verzögerten Imitation im Verlauf des zweiten Lebensjahres. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit werden die Entwicklung und die testtheoretischen Grundlagen der Messinstrumente zur Erfassung der Verzögerten Imitation für den Altersbereich von 12, 18 und 24 Monaten beschrieben. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit werden Ergebnisse einer Längsschnittstudie (N = 92) mit drei Messzeitpunkten (12, 18 und 24 Monate alte Kinder) beschrieben. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Leistungen des deklarativen Gedächtnisses im Laufe des zweiten Lebensjahres in beachtlicher Weise anstiegen. So erinnerten Kinder im Alter von 12 Monaten M = 4 (SD = 1.55) von 7 Teilhandlungen, im Alter von 18 Monaten M = 6.9 (SD = 1,85) von 12 Teilhandlungen. Die Zweijährigen erinnerten schließlich M = 17.82 (SD = 3.81) von 29 Teilhandlungen. Hierbei fanden sich keine Geschlechtsunterschiede. Dieser Leistungszuwachs repliziert die Befunde aus bisherigen Quer- sowie Längsschnittstudien. Im Hinblick auf die interindividuellen Stabilitäten der Leistungen zeigte sich, dass diese zwischen 12 und 18 Monaten relativ niedrig waren und zwischen dem 18. und 24. Lebensmonat leicht anstiegen. Um die niedrigen Stabilitäten im Rahmen eines differentiellen Ansatzes weiter erklären zu können erfolgten gruppenbasierte Analysen. Durch personenzentrierte Verfahren wurden zwei Gruppen extrahiert, welche differentielle Wachstumskurven sowie relativ hohe Stabilitäten zeigten. Diese beiden Gruppen unterschieden sich im Alter von 18 Monaten in den Entwicklungsdimension Sprach- sowie motorische Entwicklung als auch in der Dimension Körperbewusstsein signifikant voneinander. Diese Befunde stehen im Einklang mit Theorien zur Rolle des Selbst bei der Entwicklung deklarativer, insbesondere episodischer Erinnerung sowie mit empirischen Ergebnissen zur Rolle der Sprache beim Aufbau deklarativer Erinnerungen

Gavotte - Douglas

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/3129/thumbnail.jp