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3 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)

2007

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The new robotics - towards human-centered machines

Schaal, S.

HFSP Journal Frontiers of Interdisciplinary Research in the Life Sciences, 1(2):115-126, 2007, clmc (article)

Abstract
Research in robotics has moved away from its primary focus on industrial applications. The New Robotics is a vision that has been developed in past years by our own university and many other national and international research instiutions and addresses how increasingly more human-like robots can live among us and take over tasks where our current society has shortcomings. Elder care, physical therapy, child education, search and rescue, and general assistance in daily life situations are some of the examples that will benefit from the New Robotics in the near future. With these goals in mind, research for the New Robotics has to embrace a broad interdisciplinary approach, ranging from traditional mathematical issues of robotics to novel issues in psychology, neuroscience, and ethics. This paper outlines some of the important research problems that will need to be resolved to make the New Robotics a reality.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

2007

am Schaal, S. The new robotics - towards human-centered machines HFSP Journal Frontiers of Interdisciplinary Research in the Life Sciences, 1(2):115-126, 2007, clmc (article)

link (url) [BibTex]

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iCub - The Design and Realization of an Open Humanoid Platform for Cognitive and Neuroscience Research

Tsagarakis, N., Metta, G., Sandini, G., Vernon, D., Beira, R., Becchi, F., Righetti, L., Santos-Victor, J., Ijspeert, A., Carrozza, M., Caldwell, D.

Advanced Robotics, 21(10):1151-1175, 2007 (article)

Abstract
The development of robotic cognition and the advancement of understanding of human cognition form two of the current greatest challenges in robotics and neuroscience, respectively. The RobotCub project aims to develop an embodied robotic child (iCub) with the physical (height 90 cm and mass less than 23 kg) and ultimately cognitive abilities of a 2.5-year-old human child. The iCub will be a freely available open system which can be used by scientists in all cognate disciplines from developmental psychology to epigenetic robotics to enhance understanding of cognitive systems through the study of cognitive development. The iCub will be open both in software, but more importantly in all aspects of the hardware and mechanical design. In this paper the design of the mechanisms and structures forming the basic 'body' of the iCub are described. The papers considers kinematic structures dynamic design criteria, actuator specification and selection, and detailed mechanical and electronic design. The paper concludes with tests of the performance of sample joints, and comparison of these results with the design requirements and simulation projects.

mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

mg Tsagarakis, N., Metta, G., Sandini, G., Vernon, D., Beira, R., Becchi, F., Righetti, L., Santos-Victor, J., Ijspeert, A., Carrozza, M., Caldwell, D. iCub - The Design and Realization of an Open Humanoid Platform for Cognitive and Neuroscience Research Advanced Robotics, 21(10):1151-1175, 2007 (article)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

1995

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Memory-based neural networks for robot learning

Atkeson, C. G., Schaal, S.

Neurocomputing, 9, pages: 1-27, 1995, clmc (article)

Abstract
This paper explores a memory-based approach to robot learning, using memory-based neural networks to learn models of the task to be performed. Steinbuch and Taylor presented neural network designs to explicitly store training data and do nearest neighbor lookup in the early 1960s. In this paper their nearest neighbor network is augmented with a local model network, which fits a local model to a set of nearest neighbors. This network design is equivalent to a statistical approach known as locally weighted regression, in which a local model is formed to answer each query, using a weighted regression in which nearby points (similar experiences) are weighted more than distant points (less relevant experiences). We illustrate this approach by describing how it has been used to enable a robot to learn a difficult juggling task. Keywords: memory-based, robot learning, locally weighted regression, nearest neighbor, local models.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

1995

am Atkeson, C. G., Schaal, S. Memory-based neural networks for robot learning Neurocomputing, 9, pages: 1-27, 1995, clmc (article)

link (url) [BibTex]