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35 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)

2019

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Accurate Vision-based Manipulation through Contact Reasoning

Kloss, A., Bauza, M., Wu, J., Tenenbaum, J. B., Rodriguez, A., Bohg, J.

In International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2019 (inproceedings) Submitted

Abstract
Planning contact interactions is one of the core challenges of many robotic tasks. Optimizing contact locations while taking dynamics into account is computationally costly and in only partially observed environments, executing contact-based tasks often suffers from low accuracy. We present an approach that addresses these two challenges for the problem of vision-based manipulation. First, we propose to disentangle contact from motion optimization. Thereby, we improve planning efficiency by focusing computation on promising contact locations. Second, we use a hybrid approach for perception and state estimation that combines neural networks with a physically meaningful state representation. In simulation and real-world experiments on the task of planar pushing, we show that our method is more efficient and achieves a higher manipulation accuracy than previous vision-based approaches.

am

Video link (url) [BibTex]

2019

am Kloss, A., Bauza, M., Wu, J., Tenenbaum, J. B., Rodriguez, A., Bohg, J. Accurate Vision-based Manipulation through Contact Reasoning In International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2019 (inproceedings) Submitted

Video link (url) [BibTex]

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Learning Latent Space Dynamics for Tactile Servoing

Sutanto, G., Ratliff, N., Sundaralingam, B., Chebotar, Y., Su, Z., Handa, A., Fox, D.

In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2019, IEEE, International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2019 (inproceedings) Accepted

am

pdf video [BibTex]

am Sutanto, G., Ratliff, N., Sundaralingam, B., Chebotar, Y., Su, Z., Handa, A., Fox, D. Learning Latent Space Dynamics for Tactile Servoing In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2019, IEEE, International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2019 (inproceedings) Accepted

pdf video [BibTex]

2018

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Probabilistic Recurrent State-Space Models

Doerr, A., Daniel, C., Schiegg, M., Nguyen-Tuong, D., Schaal, S., Toussaint, M., Trimpe, S.

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), July 2018 (inproceedings)

Abstract
State-space models (SSMs) are a highly expressive model class for learning patterns in time series data and for system identification. Deterministic versions of SSMs (e.g., LSTMs) proved extremely successful in modeling complex time-series data. Fully probabilistic SSMs, however, unfortunately often prove hard to train, even for smaller problems. To overcome this limitation, we propose a scalable initialization and training algorithm based on doubly stochastic variational inference and Gaussian processes. In the variational approximation we propose in contrast to related approaches to fully capture the latent state temporal correlations to allow for robust training.

am ics

arXiv pdf Project Page [BibTex]

2018

am ics Doerr, A., Daniel, C., Schiegg, M., Nguyen-Tuong, D., Schaal, S., Toussaint, M., Trimpe, S. Probabilistic Recurrent State-Space Models In Proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), July 2018 (inproceedings)

arXiv pdf Project Page [BibTex]

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Online Learning of a Memory for Learning Rates

(nominated for best paper award)

Meier, F., Kappler, D., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2018, IEEE, International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2018, accepted (inproceedings)

Abstract
The promise of learning to learn for robotics rests on the hope that by extracting some information about the learning process itself we can speed up subsequent similar learning tasks. Here, we introduce a computationally efficient online meta-learning algorithm that builds and optimizes a memory model of the optimal learning rate landscape from previously observed gradient behaviors. While performing task specific optimization, this memory of learning rates predicts how to scale currently observed gradients. After applying the gradient scaling our meta-learner updates its internal memory based on the observed effect its prediction had. Our meta-learner can be combined with any gradient-based optimizer, learns on the fly and can be transferred to new optimization tasks. In our evaluations we show that our meta-learning algorithm speeds up learning of MNIST classification and a variety of learning control tasks, either in batch or online learning settings.

am

pdf video code [BibTex]

am Meier, F., Kappler, D., Schaal, S. Online Learning of a Memory for Learning Rates In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2018, IEEE, International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2018, accepted (inproceedings)

pdf video code [BibTex]

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Learning Sensor Feedback Models from Demonstrations via Phase-Modulated Neural Networks

Sutanto, G., Su, Z., Schaal, S., Meier, F.

In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2018, IEEE, International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2018 (inproceedings)

am

pdf video [BibTex]

am Sutanto, G., Su, Z., Schaal, S., Meier, F. Learning Sensor Feedback Models from Demonstrations via Phase-Modulated Neural Networks In Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) 2018, IEEE, International Conference on Robotics and Automation, May 2018 (inproceedings)

pdf video [BibTex]

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On Time Optimization of Centroidal Momentum Dynamics

Ponton, B., Herzog, A., Del Prete, A., Schaal, S., Righetti, L.

In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 5776-5782, IEEE, Brisbane, Australia, 2018 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Recently, the centroidal momentum dynamics has received substantial attention to plan dynamically consistent motions for robots with arms and legs in multi-contact scenarios. However, it is also non convex which renders any optimization approach difficult and timing is usually kept fixed in most trajectory optimization techniques to not introduce additional non convexities to the problem. But this can limit the versatility of the algorithms. In our previous work, we proposed a convex relaxation of the problem that allowed to efficiently compute momentum trajectories and contact forces. However, our approach could not minimize a desired angular momentum objective which seriously limited its applicability. Noticing that the non-convexity introduced by the time variables is of similar nature as the centroidal dynamics one, we propose two convex relaxations to the problem based on trust regions and soft constraints. The resulting approaches can compute time-optimized dynamically consistent trajectories sufficiently fast to make the approach realtime capable. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated in several multi-contact scenarios for a humanoid robot. In particular, we show that the proposed convex relaxation of the original problem finds solutions that are consistent with the original non-convex problem and illustrate how timing optimization allows to find motion plans that would be difficult to plan with fixed timing † †Implementation details and demos can be found in the source code available at https://git-amd.tuebingen.mpg.de/bponton/timeoptimization.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Ponton, B., Herzog, A., Del Prete, A., Schaal, S., Righetti, L. On Time Optimization of Centroidal Momentum Dynamics In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 5776-5782, IEEE, Brisbane, Australia, 2018 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Unsupervised Contact Learning for Humanoid Estimation and Control

Rotella, N., Schaal, S., Righetti, L.

In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 411-417, IEEE, Brisbane, Australia, 2018 (inproceedings)

Abstract
This work presents a method for contact state estimation using fuzzy clustering to learn contact probability for full, six-dimensional humanoid contacts. The data required for training is solely from proprioceptive sensors - endeffector contact wrench sensors and inertial measurement units (IMUs) - and the method is completely unsupervised. The resulting cluster means are used to efficiently compute the probability of contact in each of the six endeffector degrees of freedom (DoFs) independently. This clustering-based contact probability estimator is validated in a kinematics-based base state estimator in a simulation environment with realistic added sensor noise for locomotion over rough, low-friction terrain on which the robot is subject to foot slip and rotation. The proposed base state estimator which utilizes these six DoF contact probability estimates is shown to perform considerably better than that which determines kinematic contact constraints purely based on measured normal force.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Rotella, N., Schaal, S., Righetti, L. Unsupervised Contact Learning for Humanoid Estimation and Control In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 411-417, IEEE, Brisbane, Australia, 2018 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Learning Task-Specific Dynamics to Improve Whole-Body Control

Gams, A., Mason, S., Ude, A., Schaal, S., Righetti, L.

In Hua, IEEE, Beijing, China, November 2018 (inproceedings)

Abstract
In task-based inverse dynamics control, reference accelerations used to follow a desired plan can be broken down into feedforward and feedback trajectories. The feedback term accounts for tracking errors that are caused from inaccurate dynamic models or external disturbances. On underactuated, free-floating robots, such as humanoids, high feedback terms can be used to improve tracking accuracy; however, this can lead to very stiff behavior or poor tracking accuracy due to limited control bandwidth. In this paper, we show how to reduce the required contribution of the feedback controller by incorporating learned task-space reference accelerations. Thus, we i) improve the execution of the given specific task, and ii) offer the means to reduce feedback gains, providing for greater compliance of the system. With a systematic approach we also reduce heuristic tuning of the model parameters and feedback gains, often present in real-world experiments. In contrast to learning task-specific joint-torques, which might produce a similar effect but can lead to poor generalization, our approach directly learns the task-space dynamics of the center of mass of a humanoid robot. Simulated and real-world results on the lower part of the Sarcos Hermes humanoid robot demonstrate the applicability of the approach.

am mg

link (url) [BibTex]

am mg Gams, A., Mason, S., Ude, A., Schaal, S., Righetti, L. Learning Task-Specific Dynamics to Improve Whole-Body Control In Hua, IEEE, Beijing, China, November 2018 (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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An MPC Walking Framework With External Contact Forces

Mason, S., Rotella, N., Schaal, S., Righetti, L.

In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 1785-1790, IEEE, Brisbane, Australia, May 2018 (inproceedings)

Abstract
In this work, we present an extension to a linear Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme that plans external contact forces for the robot when given multiple contact locations and their corresponding friction cone. To this end, we set up a two-step optimization problem. In the first optimization, we compute the Center of Mass (CoM) trajectory, foot step locations, and introduce slack variables to account for violating the imposed constraints on the Zero Moment Point (ZMP). We then use the slack variables to trigger the second optimization, in which we calculate the optimal external force that compensates for the ZMP tracking error. This optimization considers multiple contacts positions within the environment by formulating the problem as a Mixed Integer Quadratic Program (MIQP) that can be solved at a speed between 100-300 Hz. Once contact is created, the MIQP reduces to a single Quadratic Program (QP) that can be solved in real-time ({\textless}; 1kHz). Simulations show that the presented walking control scheme can withstand disturbances 2-3× larger with the additional force provided by a hand contact.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Mason, S., Rotella, N., Schaal, S., Righetti, L. An MPC Walking Framework With External Contact Forces In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 1785-1790, IEEE, Brisbane, Australia, May 2018 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2011

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STOMP: Stochastic trajectory optimization for motion planning

Kalakrishnan, M., Chitta, S., Theodorou, E., Pastor, P., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Shanghai, China, May 9-13, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
We present a new approach to motion planning using a stochastic trajectory optimization framework. The approach relies on generating noisy trajectories to explore the space around an initial (possibly infeasible) trajectory, which are then combined to produced an updated trajectory with lower cost. A cost function based on a combination of obstacle and smoothness cost is optimized in each iteration. No gradient information is required for the particular optimization algorithm that we use and so general costs for which derivatives may not be available (e.g. costs corresponding to constraints and motor torques) can be included in the cost function. We demonstrate the approach both in simulation and on a dual-arm mobile manipulation system for unconstrained and constrained tasks. We experimentally show that the stochastic nature of STOMP allows it to overcome local minima that gradient-based optimizers like CHOMP can get stuck in.

am

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

2011

am Kalakrishnan, M., Chitta, S., Theodorou, E., Pastor, P., Schaal, S. STOMP: Stochastic trajectory optimization for motion planning In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Shanghai, China, May 9-13, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) Project Page [BibTex]

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Path Integral Control and Bounded Rationality

Braun, D. A., Ortega, P. A., Theodorou, E., Schaal, S.

In IEEE Symposium on Adaptive Dynamic Programming And Reinforcement Learning (ADPRL), 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Path integral methods [7], [15],[1] have recently been shown to be applicable to a very general class of optimal control problems. Here we examine the path integral formalism from a decision-theoretic point of view, since an optimal controller can always be regarded as an instance of a perfectly rational decision-maker that chooses its actions so as to maximize its expected utility [8]. The problem with perfect rationality is, however, that finding optimal actions is often very difficult due to prohibitive computational resource costs that are not taken into account. In contrast, a bounded rational decision-maker has only limited resources and therefore needs to strike some compromise between the desired utility and the required resource costs [14]. In particular, we suggest an information-theoretic measure of resource costs that can be derived axiomatically [11]. As a consequence we obtain a variational principle for choice probabilities that trades off maximizing a given utility criterion and avoiding resource costs that arise due to deviating from initially given default choice probabilities. The resulting bounded rational policies are in general probabilistic. We show that the solutions found by the path integral formalism are such bounded rational policies. Furthermore, we show that the same formalism generalizes to discrete control problems, leading to linearly solvable bounded rational control policies in the case of Markov systems. Importantly, Bellman?s optimality principle is not presupposed by this variational principle, but it can be derived as a limit case. This suggests that the information- theoretic formalization of bounded rationality might serve as a general principle in control design that unifies a number of recently reported approximate optimal control methods both in the continuous and discrete domain.

am

PDF [BibTex]

am Braun, D. A., Ortega, P. A., Theodorou, E., Schaal, S. Path Integral Control and Bounded Rationality In IEEE Symposium on Adaptive Dynamic Programming And Reinforcement Learning (ADPRL), 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

PDF [BibTex]

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Skill learning and task outcome prediction for manipulation

Pastor, P., Kalakrishnan, M., Chitta, S., Theodorou, E., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Shanghai, China, May 9-13, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Learning complex motor skills for real world tasks is a hard problem in robotic manipulation that often requires painstaking manual tuning and design by a human expert. In this work, we present a Reinforcement Learning based approach to acquiring new motor skills from demonstration. Our approach allows the robot to learn fine manipulation skills and significantly improve its success rate and skill level starting from a possibly coarse demonstration. Our approach aims to incorporate task domain knowledge, where appropriate, by working in a space consistent with the constraints of a specific task. In addition, we also present an approach to using sensor feedback to learn a predictive model of the task outcome. This allows our system to learn the proprioceptive sensor feedback needed to monitor subsequent executions of the task online and abort execution in the event of predicted failure. We illustrate our approach using two example tasks executed with the PR2 dual-arm robot: a straight and accurate pool stroke and a box flipping task using two chopsticks as tools.

am

link (url) Project Page Project Page [BibTex]

am Pastor, P., Kalakrishnan, M., Chitta, S., Theodorou, E., Schaal, S. Skill learning and task outcome prediction for manipulation In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Shanghai, China, May 9-13, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) Project Page Project Page [BibTex]

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An Iterative Path Integral Stochastic Optimal Control Approach for Learning Robotic Tasks

Theodorou, E., Stulp, F., Buchli, J., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Recent work on path integral stochastic optimal control theory Theodorou et al. (2010a); Theodorou (2011) has shown promising results in planning and control of nonlinear systems in high dimensional state spaces. The path integral control framework relies on the transformation of the nonlinear Hamilton Jacobi Bellman (HJB) partial differential equation (PDE) into a linear PDE and the approximation of its solution via the use of the Feynman Kac lemma. In this work, we are reviewing the generalized version of path integral stochastic optimal control formalism Theodorou et al. (2010a), used for optimal control and planing of stochastic dynamical systems with state dependent control and diffusion matrices. Moreover we present the iterative path integral control approach, the so called Policy Improvement with Path Integrals or (PI2 ) which is capable of scaling in high dimensional robotic control problems. Furthermore we present a convergence analysis of the proposed algorithm and we apply the proposed framework to a variety of robotic tasks. Finally with the goal to perform locomotion the iterative path integral control is applied for learning nonlinear limit cycle attractors with adjustable land scape.

am

PDF [BibTex]

am Theodorou, E., Stulp, F., Buchli, J., Schaal, S. An Iterative Path Integral Stochastic Optimal Control Approach for Learning Robotic Tasks In Proceedings of the 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

PDF [BibTex]

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Movement segmentation using a primitive library

Meier, F., Theodorou, E., Stulp, F., Schaal, S.

In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2011), Sept. 25-30, San Francisco, CA, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Segmenting complex movements into a sequence of primitives remains a difficult problem with many applications in the robotics and vision communities. In this work, we show how the movement segmentation problem can be reduced to a sequential movement recognition problem. To this end, we reformulate the orig-inal Dynamic Movement Primitive (DMP) formulation as a linear dynamical sys-tem with control inputs. Based on this new formulation, we develop an Expecta-tion-Maximization algorithm to estimate the duration and goal position of a par-tially observed trajectory. With the help of this algorithm and the assumption that a library of movement primitives is present, we present a movement seg-mentation framework. We illustrate the usefulness of the new DMP formulation on the two applications of online movement recognition and movement segmen-tation.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Meier, F., Theodorou, E., Stulp, F., Schaal, S. Movement segmentation using a primitive library In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2011), Sept. 25-30, San Francisco, CA, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Learning Force Control Policies for Compliant Manipulation

Kalakrishnan, M., Righetti, L., Pastor, P., Schaal, S.

In 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 4639-4644, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, sep 2011 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Developing robots capable of fine manipulation skills is of major importance in order to build truly assistive robots. These robots need to be compliant in their actuation and control in order to operate safely in human environments. Manipulation tasks imply complex contact interactions with the external world, and involve reasoning about the forces and torques to be applied. Planning under contact conditions is usually impractical due to computational complexity, and a lack of precise dynamics models of the environment. We present an approach to acquiring manipulation skills on compliant robots through reinforcement learning. The initial position control policy for manipulation is initialized through kinesthetic demonstration. We augment this policy with a force/torque profile to be controlled in combination with the position trajectories. We use the Policy Improvement with Path Integrals (PI2) algorithm to learn these force/torque profiles by optimizing a cost function that measures task success. We demonstrate our approach on the Barrett WAM robot arm equipped with a 6-DOF force/torque sensor on two different manipulation tasks: opening a door with a lever door handle, and picking up a pen off the table. We show that the learnt force control policies allow successful, robust execution of the tasks.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Kalakrishnan, M., Righetti, L., Pastor, P., Schaal, S. Learning Force Control Policies for Compliant Manipulation In 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 4639-4644, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, sep 2011 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Control of legged robots with optimal distribution of contact forces

Righetti, L., Buchli, J., Mistry, M., Schaal, S.

In 2011 11th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, pages: 318-324, IEEE, Bled, Slovenia, 2011 (inproceedings)

Abstract
The development of agile and safe humanoid robots require controllers that guarantee both high tracking performance and compliance with the environment. More specifically, the control of contact interaction is of crucial importance for robots that will actively interact with their environment. Model-based controllers such as inverse dynamics or operational space control are very appealing as they offer both high tracking performance and compliance. However, while widely used for fully actuated systems such as manipulators, they are not yet standard controllers for legged robots such as humanoids. Indeed such robots are fundamentally different from manipulators as they are underactuated due to their floating-base and subject to switching contact constraints. In this paper we present an inverse dynamics controller for legged robots that use torque redundancy to create an optimal distribution of contact constraints. The resulting controller is able to minimize, given a desired motion, any quadratic cost of the contact constraints at each instant of time. In particular we show how this can be used to minimize tangential forces during locomotion, therefore significantly improving the locomotion of legged robots on difficult terrains. In addition to the theoretical result, we present simulations of a humanoid and a quadruped robot, as well as experiments on a real quadruped robot that demonstrate the advantages of the controller.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Righetti, L., Buchli, J., Mistry, M., Schaal, S. Control of legged robots with optimal distribution of contact forces In 2011 11th IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, pages: 318-324, IEEE, Bled, Slovenia, 2011 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Learning Motion Primitive Goals for Robust Manipulation

Stulp, F., Theodorou, E., Kalakrishnan, M., Pastor, P., Righetti, L., Schaal, S.

In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 325-331, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, sep 2011 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Applying model-free reinforcement learning to manipulation remains challenging for several reasons. First, manipulation involves physical contact, which causes discontinuous cost functions. Second, in manipulation, the end-point of the movement must be chosen carefully, as it represents a grasp which must be adapted to the pose and shape of the object. Finally, there is uncertainty in the object pose, and even the most carefully planned movement may fail if the object is not at the expected position. To address these challenges we 1) present a simplified, computationally more efficient version of our model-free reinforcement learning algorithm PI2; 2) extend PI2 so that it simultaneously learns shape parameters and goal parameters of motion primitives; 3) use shape and goal learning to acquire motion primitives that are robust to object pose uncertainty. We evaluate these contributions on a manipulation platform consisting of a 7-DOF arm with a 4-DOF hand.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Stulp, F., Theodorou, E., Kalakrishnan, M., Pastor, P., Righetti, L., Schaal, S. Learning Motion Primitive Goals for Robust Manipulation In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 325-331, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, sep 2011 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Inverse Dynamics Control of Floating-Base Robots with External Constraints: a Unified View

Righetti, L., Buchli, J., Mistry, M., Schaal, S.

In 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 1085-1090, IEEE, Shanghai, China, 2011 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Inverse dynamics controllers and operational space controllers have proved to be very efficient for compliant control of fully actuated robots such as fixed base manipulators. However legged robots such as humanoids are inherently different as they are underactuated and subject to switching external contact constraints. Recently several methods have been proposed to create inverse dynamics controllers and operational space controllers for these robots. In an attempt to compare these different approaches, we develop a general framework for inverse dynamics control and show that these methods lead to very similar controllers. We are then able to greatly simplify recent whole-body controllers based on operational space approaches using kinematic projections, bringing them closer to efficient practical implementations. We also generalize these controllers such that they can be optimal under an arbitrary quadratic cost in the commands.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Righetti, L., Buchli, J., Mistry, M., Schaal, S. Inverse Dynamics Control of Floating-Base Robots with External Constraints: a Unified View In 2011 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 1085-1090, IEEE, Shanghai, China, 2011 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Online movement adaptation based on previous sensor experiences

Pastor, P., Righetti, L., Kalakrishnan, M., Schaal, S.

In 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 365-371, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, sep 2011 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Personal robots can only become widespread if they are capable of safely operating among humans. In uncertain and highly dynamic environments such as human households, robots need to be able to instantly adapt their behavior to unforseen events. In this paper, we propose a general framework to achieve very contact-reactive motions for robotic grasping and manipulation. Associating stereotypical movements to particular tasks enables our system to use previous sensor experiences as a predictive model for subsequent task executions. We use dynamical systems, named Dynamic Movement Primitives (DMPs), to learn goal-directed behaviors from demonstration. We exploit their dynamic properties by coupling them with the measured and predicted sensor traces. This feedback loop allows for online adaptation of the movement plan. Our system can create a rich set of possible motions that account for external perturbations and perception uncertainty to generate truly robust behaviors. As an example, we present an application to grasping with the WAM robot arm.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Pastor, P., Righetti, L., Kalakrishnan, M., Schaal, S. Online movement adaptation based on previous sensor experiences In 2011 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 365-371, IEEE, San Francisco, USA, sep 2011 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Learning to grasp under uncertainty

Stulp, F., Theodorou, E., Buchli, J., Schaal, S.

In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2011 IEEE International Conference on, Shanghai, China, May 9-13, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
We present an approach that enables robots to learn motion primitives that are robust towards state estimation uncertainties. During reaching and preshaping, the robot learns to use fine manipulation strategies to maneuver the object into a pose at which closing the hand to perform the grasp is more likely to succeed. In contrast, common assumptions in grasp planning and motion planning for reaching are that these tasks can be performed independently, and that the robot has perfect knowledge of the pose of the objects in the environment. We implement our approach using Dynamic Movement Primitives and the probabilistic model-free reinforcement learning algorithm Policy Improvement with Path Integrals (PI2 ). The cost function that PI2 optimizes is a simple boolean that penalizes failed grasps. The key to acquiring robust motion primitives is to sample the actual pose of the object from a distribution that represents the state estimation uncertainty. During learning, the robot will thus optimize the chance of grasping an object from this distribution, rather than at one specific pose. In our empirical evaluation, we demonstrate how the motion primitives become more robust when grasping simple cylindrical objects, as well as more complex, non-convex objects. We also investigate how well the learned motion primitives generalize towards new object positions and other state estimation uncertainty distributions.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Stulp, F., Theodorou, E., Buchli, J., Schaal, S. Learning to grasp under uncertainty In Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2011 IEEE International Conference on, Shanghai, China, May 9-13, 2011, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

2004

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Learning Composite Adaptive Control for a Class of Nonlinear Systems

Nakanishi, J., Farrell, J. A., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 2647-2652, New Orleans, LA, USA, April 2004, 2004, clmc (inproceedings)

am

link (url) [BibTex]

2004

am Nakanishi, J., Farrell, J. A., Schaal, S. Learning Composite Adaptive Control for a Class of Nonlinear Systems In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pages: 2647-2652, New Orleans, LA, USA, April 2004, 2004, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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A framework for learning biped locomotion with dynamic movement primitives

Nakanishi, J., Morimoto, J., Endo, G., Cheng, G., Schaal, S., Kawato, M.

In IEEE-RAS/RSJ International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids 2004), IEEE, Los Angeles, CA: Nov.10-12, Santa Monica, CA, 2004, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
This article summarizes our framework for learning biped locomotion using dynamical movement primitives based on nonlinear oscillators. Our ultimate goal is to establish a design principle of a controller in order to achieve natural human-like locomotion. We suggest dynamical movement primitives as a central pattern generator (CPG) of a biped robot, an approach we have previously proposed for learning and encoding complex human movements. Demonstrated trajectories are learned through movement primitives by locally weighted regression, and the frequency of the learned trajectories is adjusted automatically by a frequency adaptation algorithm based on phase resetting and entrainment of coupled oscillators. Numerical simulations and experimental implementation on a physical robot demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed locomotion controller. Furthermore, we demonstrate that phase resetting contributes to robustness against external perturbations and environmental changes by numerical simulations and experiments.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Nakanishi, J., Morimoto, J., Endo, G., Cheng, G., Schaal, S., Kawato, M. A framework for learning biped locomotion with dynamic movement primitives In IEEE-RAS/RSJ International Conference on Humanoid Robots (Humanoids 2004), IEEE, Los Angeles, CA: Nov.10-12, Santa Monica, CA, 2004, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Learning Motor Primitives with Reinforcement Learning

Peters, J., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the 11th Joint Symposium on Neural Computation, http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechJSNC:2004.poster020, 2004, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
One of the major challenges in action generation for robotics and in the understanding of human motor control is to learn the "building blocks of move- ment generation," or more precisely, motor primitives. Recently, Ijspeert et al. [1, 2] suggested a novel framework how to use nonlinear dynamical systems as motor primitives. While a lot of progress has been made in teaching these mo- tor primitives using supervised or imitation learning, the self-improvement by interaction of the system with the environment remains a challenging problem. In this poster, we evaluate different reinforcement learning approaches can be used in order to improve the performance of motor primitives. For pursuing this goal, we highlight the difficulties with current reinforcement learning methods, and line out how these lead to a novel algorithm which is based on natural policy gradients [3]. We compare this algorithm to previous reinforcement learning algorithms in the context of dynamic motor primitive learning, and show that it outperforms these by at least an order of magnitude. We demonstrate the efficiency of the resulting reinforcement learning method for creating complex behaviors for automous robotics. The studied behaviors will include both discrete, finite tasks such as baseball swings, as well as complex rhythmic patterns as they occur in biped locomotion

am

[BibTex]

am Peters, J., Schaal, S. Learning Motor Primitives with Reinforcement Learning In Proceedings of the 11th Joint Symposium on Neural Computation, http://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechJSNC:2004.poster020, 2004, clmc (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

2001

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Humanoid oculomotor control based on concepts of computational neuroscience

Shibata, T., Vijayakumar, S., Conradt, J., Schaal, S.

In Humanoids2001, Second IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Oculomotor control in a humanoid robot faces similar problems as biological oculomotor systems, i.e., the stabilization of gaze in face of unknown perturbations of the body, selective attention, the complexity of stereo vision and dealing with large information processing delays. In this paper, we suggest control circuits to realize three of the most basic oculomotor behaviors - the vestibulo-ocular and optokinetic reflex (VOR-OKR) for gaze stabilization, smooth pursuit for tracking moving objects, and saccades for overt visual attention. Each of these behaviors was derived from inspirations from computational neuroscience, which proves to be a viable strategy to explore novel control mechanisms for humanoid robotics. Our implementations on a humanoid robot demonstrate good performance of the oculomotor behaviors that appears natural and human-like.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

2001

am Shibata, T., Vijayakumar, S., Conradt, J., Schaal, S. Humanoid oculomotor control based on concepts of computational neuroscience In Humanoids2001, Second IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Trajectory formation for imitation with nonlinear dynamical systems

Ijspeert, A., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), pages: 752-757, Weilea, Hawaii, Oct.29-Nov.3, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
This article explores a new approach to learning by imitation and trajectory formation by representing movements as mixtures of nonlinear differential equations with well-defined attractor dynamics. An observed movement is approximated by finding a best fit of the mixture model to its data by a recursive least squares regression technique. In contrast to non-autonomous movement representations like splines, the resultant movement plan remains an autonomous set of nonlinear differential equations that forms a control policy which is robust to strong external perturbations and that can be modified by additional perceptual variables. This movement policy remains the same for a given target, regardless of the initial conditions, and can easily be re-used for new targets. We evaluate the trajectory formation system (TFS) in the context of a humanoid robot simulation that is part of the Virtual Trainer (VT) project, which aims at supervising rehabilitation exercises in stroke-patients. A typical rehabilitation exercise was collected with a Sarcos Sensuit, a device to record joint angular movement from human subjects, and approximated and reproduced with our imitation techniques. Our results demonstrate that multi-joint human movements can be encoded successfully, and that this system allows robust modifications of the movement policy through external variables.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Ijspeert, A., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S. Trajectory formation for imitation with nonlinear dynamical systems In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), pages: 752-757, Weilea, Hawaii, Oct.29-Nov.3, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Real-time statistical learning for robotics and human augmentation

Schaal, S., Vijayakumar, S., D’Souza, A., Ijspeert, A., Nakanishi, J.

In International Symposium on Robotics Research, (Editors: Jarvis, R. A.;Zelinsky, A.), Lorne, Victoria, Austrialia Nov.9-12, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Real-time modeling of complex nonlinear dynamic processes has become increasingly important in various areas of robotics and human augmentation. To address such problems, we have been developing special statistical learning methods that meet the demands of on-line learning, in particular the need for low computational complexity, rapid learning, and scalability to high-dimensional spaces. In this paper, we introduce a novel algorithm that possesses all the necessary properties by combining methods from probabilistic and nonparametric learning. We demonstrate the applicability of our methods for three different applications in humanoid robotics, i.e., the on-line learning of a full-body inverse dynamics model, an inverse kinematics model, and imitation learning. The latter application will also introduce a novel method to shape attractor landscapes of dynamical system by means of statis-tical learning.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Schaal, S., Vijayakumar, S., D’Souza, A., Ijspeert, A., Nakanishi, J. Real-time statistical learning for robotics and human augmentation In International Symposium on Robotics Research, (Editors: Jarvis, R. A.;Zelinsky, A.), Lorne, Victoria, Austrialia Nov.9-12, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Robust learning of arm trajectories through human demonstration

Billard, A., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, Maui, Hawaii, Oct.29-Nov.3, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
We present a model, composed of hierarchy of artificial neural networks, for robot learning by demonstration. The model is implemented in a dynamic simulation of a 41 degrees of freedom humanoid for reproducing 3D human motion of the arm. Results show that the model requires few information about the desired trajectory and learns on-line the relevant features of movement. It can generalize across a small set of data to produce a qualitatively good reproduction of the demonstrated trajectory. Finally, it is shown that reproduction of the trajectory after learning is robust against perturbations.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Billard, A., Schaal, S. Robust learning of arm trajectories through human demonstration In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, Maui, Hawaii, Oct.29-Nov.3, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Overt visual attention for a humanoid robot

Vijayakumar, S., Conradt, J., Shibata, T., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
The goal of our research is to investigate the interplay between oculomotor control, visual processing, and limb control in humans and primates by exploring the computational issues of these processes with a biologically inspired artificial oculomotor system on an anthropomorphic robot. In this paper, we investigate the computational mechanisms for visual attention in such a system. Stimuli in the environment excite a dynamical neural network that implements a saliency map, i.e., a winner-take-all competition between stimuli while simultenously smoothing out noise and suppressing irrelevant inputs. In real-time, this system computes new targets for the shift of gaze, executed by the head-eye system of the robot. The redundant degrees-of- freedom of the head-eye system are resolved through a learned inverse kinematics with optimization criterion. We also address important issues how to ensure that the coordinate system of the saliency map remains correct after movement of the robot. The presented attention system is built on principled modules and generally applicable for any sensory modality.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Vijayakumar, S., Conradt, J., Shibata, T., Schaal, S. Overt visual attention for a humanoid robot In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Learning inverse kinematics

D’Souza, A., Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, Maui, Hawaii, Oct.29-Nov.3, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Real-time control of the endeffector of a humanoid robot in external coordinates requires computationally efficient solutions of the inverse kinematics problem. In this context, this paper investigates learning of inverse kinematics for resolved motion rate control (RMRC) employing an optimization criterion to resolve kinematic redundancies. Our learning approach is based on the key observations that learning an inverse of a non uniquely invertible function can be accomplished by augmenting the input representation to the inverse model and by using a spatially localized learning approach. We apply this strategy to inverse kinematics learning and demonstrate how a recently developed statistical learning algorithm, Locally Weighted Projection Regression, allows efficient learning of inverse kinematic mappings in an incremental fashion even when input spaces become rather high dimensional. The resulting performance of the inverse kinematics is comparable to Liegeois ([1]) analytical pseudo inverse with optimization. Our results are illustrated with a 30 degree-of-freedom humanoid robot.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am D’Souza, A., Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. Learning inverse kinematics In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, Maui, Hawaii, Oct.29-Nov.3, 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Biomimetic smooth pursuit based on fast learning of the target dynamics

Shibata, T., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Following a moving target with a narrow-view foveal vision system is one of the essential oculomotor behaviors of humans and humanoids. This oculomotor behavior, called ``Smooth Pursuit'', requires accurate tracking control which cannot be achieved by a simple visual negative feedback controller due to the significant delays in visual information processing. In this paper, we present a biologically inspired and control theoretically sound smooth pursuit controller consisting of two cascaded subsystems. One is an inverse model controller for the oculomotor system, and the other is a learning controller for the dynamics of the visual target. The latter controller learns how to predict the target's motion in head coordinates such that tracking performance can be improved. We investigate our smooth pursuit system in simulations and experiments on a humanoid robot. By using a fast on-line statistical learning network, our humanoid oculomotor system is able to acquire high performance smooth pursuit after about 5 seconds of learning despite significant processing delays in the syste

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Shibata, T., Schaal, S. Biomimetic smooth pursuit based on fast learning of the target dynamics In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2001), 2001, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

1998

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Programmable pattern generators

Schaal, S., Sternad, D.

In 3rd International Conference on Computational Intelligence in Neuroscience, pages: 48-51, Research Triangle Park, NC, Oct. 24-28, October 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
This paper explores the idea to create complex human-like arm movements from movement primitives based on nonlinear attractor dynamics. Each degree-of-freedom of an arm is assumed to have two independent abilities to create movement, one through a discrete dynamic system, and one through a rhythmic system. The discrete system creates point-to-point movements based on internal or external target specifications. The rhythmic system can add an additional oscillatory movement relative to the current position of the discrete system. In the present study, we develop appropriate dynamic systems that can realize the above model, motivate the particular choice of the systems from a biological and engineering point of view, and present simulation results of the performance of such movement primitives. Implementation results on a Sarcos Dexterous Arm are discussed.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

1998

am Schaal, S., Sternad, D. Programmable pattern generators In 3rd International Conference on Computational Intelligence in Neuroscience, pages: 48-51, Research Triangle Park, NC, Oct. 24-28, October 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Robust local learning in high dimensional spaces

Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S.

In 5th Joint Symposium on Neural Computation, pages: 186-193, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Incremental learning of sensorimotor transformations in high dimensional spaces is one of the basic prerequisites for the success of autonomous robot devices as well as biological movement systems. So far, due to sparsity of data in high dimensional spaces, learning in such settings requires a significant amount of prior knowledge about the learning task, usually provided by a human expert. In this paper, we suggest a partial revision of this view. Based on empirical studies, we observed that, despite being globally high dimensional and sparse, data distributions from physical movement systems are locally low dimensional and dense. Under this assumption, we derive a learning algorithm, Locally Adaptive Subspace Regression, that exploits this property by combining a dynamically growing local dimensionality reduction technique as a preprocessing step with a nonparametric learning technique, locally weighted regression, that also learns the region of validity of the regression. The usefulness of the algorithm and the validity of its assumptions are illustrated for a synthetic data set, and for data of the inverse dynamics of human arm movements and an actual 7 degree-of-freedom anthropomorphic robot arm.

am

[BibTex]

am Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. Robust local learning in high dimensional spaces In 5th Joint Symposium on Neural Computation, pages: 186-193, Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

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Local dimensionality reduction

Schaal, S., Vijayakumar, S., Atkeson, C. G.

In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 10, pages: 633-639, (Editors: Jordan, M. I.;Kearns, M. J.;Solla, S. A.), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
If globally high dimensional data has locally only low dimensional distributions, it is advantageous to perform a local dimensionality reduction before further processing the data. In this paper we examine several techniques for local dimensionality reduction in the context of locally weighted linear regression. As possible candidates, we derive local versions of factor analysis regression, principle component regression, principle component regression on joint distributions, and partial least squares regression. After outlining the statistical bases of these methods, we perform Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate their robustness with respect to violations of their statistical assumptions. One surprising outcome is that locally weighted partial least squares regression offers the best average results, thus outperforming even factor analysis, the theoretically most appealing of our candidate techniques.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Schaal, S., Vijayakumar, S., Atkeson, C. G. Local dimensionality reduction In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 10, pages: 633-639, (Editors: Jordan, M. I.;Kearns, M. J.;Solla, S. A.), MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Biomimetic gaze stabilization based on a study of the vestibulocerebellum

Shibata, T., Schaal, S.

In European Workshop on Learning Robots, pages: 84-94, Edinburgh, UK, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Accurate oculomotor control is one of the essential pre-requisites for successful visuomotor coordination. In this paper, we suggest a biologically inspired control system for learning gaze stabilization with a biomimetic robotic oculomotor system. In a stepwise fashion, we develop a control circuit for the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and the opto-kinetic response (OKR), and add a nonlinear learning network to allow adaptivity. We discuss the parallels and differences of our system with biological oculomotor control and suggest solutions how to deal with nonlinearities and time delays in the control system. In simulation and actual robot studies, we demonstrate that our system can learn gaze stabilization in real time in only a few seconds with high final accuracy.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Shibata, T., Schaal, S. Biomimetic gaze stabilization based on a study of the vestibulocerebellum In European Workshop on Learning Robots, pages: 84-94, Edinburgh, UK, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Towards biomimetic vision

Shibata, T., Schaal, S.

In International Conference on Intelligence Robots and Systems, pages: 872-879, Victoria, Canada, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Oculomotor control is the foundation of most biological visual systems, as well as an important component in the entire perceptual-motor system. We review some of the most basic principles of biological oculomotor systems, and explore their usefulness from both the biological and computational point of view. As an example of biomimetic oculomotor control, we present the state of our implementations and experimental results using the vestibulo-ocular-reflex and opto-kinetic-reflex paradigm

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Shibata, T., Schaal, S. Towards biomimetic vision In International Conference on Intelligence Robots and Systems, pages: 872-879, Victoria, Canada, 1998, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]