
Addresses: What are intelligent robots? What is a robot? Where do robots work? Why do we have (or want) robots? How are they intelligent?
Addresses: What makes autonomy different? What is the difference between automation and autonomy? Why does it matter that there is a difference between autonomy and automation? Why is AI robotics most in computer science and automation mostly in engineering? What are the advantages of autonomy over automation? Can you tell me when to use one over the other? How much autonomy do I need?
Addresses: Architectures for autonomy- given that autonomy has a different programming style, what is it? How much artificial intelligence does a robot need? Can intelligence be added in layers? Like upgrading to a "pro version" or downloading "apps" as needed?
addresses: can you make the "architecture" of AI for robots more tangible? What are the subsystems in a system architecture? I know a technical architecture depends on the implementation, but what goes into a technical architecture?
addresses tele systems: What is a tele system? Teleoperation- is it a "necessary/temporary evil" or a different style of AI? What is human supervisory control? What is semi-autonomy and how is it different? What types of domains is teleoperation good for?
Explore how multiple robot behaviors coordinate via a coordination function, blending concurrent behaviors with cooperative and competitive methods, and manage sequences through finite state and scripts.
Explore subsumption architecture for behavioral coordination in robotics, comparing suppression and inhibition in layered competence, with case studies on obstacle avoidance and the 1994 ground vehicle competition.
Explore robot locomotion by comparing wheels and tracks with legged biomimetic motion; explain skid steering, Ackerman's steering, omni directional wheels, and non-harmonic concepts, plus dynamic and static balance in gait.
This course an introduction and survey of artificial intelligence methods for mobile robots (ground, aerial, or marine) for graduate students or advanced undergraduates in science and engineering. It covers both the theory and the practice of unmanned systems, relying on biological and cognitive principles that are often quite different from control theory formulations. The course emphasizes software organization and provides a survey of the broad range of algorithms for each component in an intelligent system. It attempts to cover all the topics needed to program an artificially intelligent robot for applications involving sensing, navigation, path planning, and navigating with uncertainty.
The textbook for the course is "Introduction to AI Robotics" by Robin Murphy, MIT Press 2000- the lectures are the core of the second edition, due out next year.