Giuliano Sandini. Robotics and AI

Humans and Robots
Giulio Sandini
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
and
University of Genoa

“Open Innovations”
November 1st , 2013
Moscow

Robotics, Brain & Cognitve Sciences

Robotics and AI Renaissance
Panel Session.

This is where robotics is today…
o
o
o
o

Faster
Stronger
More resilient
More precise

Robotics, Brain & Cognitive Sciences

Giulio Sandini

…we want to get the robots closer to
humans
Humanoid Technologies

…a co-worker

A tool augmenting
human skills
A tool helping in
everyday tasks

Tools for smart interface
Tools to build and transport


time
Giulio Sandini

Robots closer to humans in two ways
More similar to us in
shape and functions

Living with us in such
a way as to change
the structure of our
society
Hirioshi Ishiguro “Sayonara” play
From “io e Caterina” 1980 directed by Alberto Sordi

Giulio Sandini

Keyboards have changed our society …

William Davidow: IEEE Spectrum August 2012


Giulio Sandini

…and this does not always help social
interaction…


Giulio Sandini

...while ideally we would like to interact
with machines as if they were humans


Giulio Sandini

Such machines must be able
to put themselves in
someone else’s shoes…
to anticipate the effects of
their own actions
to anticipate the intentions
of others

to imagine their perceptions
and feelings


Giulio Sandini

New approach to Human Machine
(friendly/safe) Interaction
....based on jointly studying humans and building
artificial systems (and their “mind”)
A bridge between
science and engineering
(adding neuroscience
and psychology to
robotics)

Claude Monet: Water Lily Pond and Japanese Bridge

Giulio Sandini

Cognitive Robotics:
to exploit the body as an actor and a
communication channel
Use Humanoid Robots

Study Humans

(as models and stimuli)

(and the way they interact)

Explore the Interaction

Study how humans develop their
motor, perceptual and cognitive
and social abilities


Implement embodied models of
the development of human
motor, perceptual and cognitive
abilities

Giulio Sandini

humanoid robots as
development tools to
study the principles of
human cognitive
abilities

The target robot is not necessarily a humanoid!!
(the flying machine is not necessarly a bird!!)

Giulio Sandini

…an analogy with the principles of flight
and the study of the interaction of a
physical body with air


Giulio Sandini

We can use a wind tunnel to study the
interaction between air flow and a
body (it’s aerodynamic properties)


Giulio Sandini

We see humanoids as wind tunnels to
study how a machine interacts with a
human
In a wind tunnel one studies interaction with air flow
with a humanoid one studies interaction with humans


Giulio Sandini

iCub is our latest «wind tunnel»…
The iCub is the humanoid baby-robot
designed as part of the RobotCub project
whose goal is also to build a community

–
–
–
–

–


The iCub is a full humanoid robot
sized as a three and half year-old
child
The total height is 104cm
It has 53 degrees of freedom,
including articulated hands to be used
for manipulation and gesturing
The robot can crawl and sit and
autonomously transition from
crawling to sitting and vice-versa
The robot is LGPL/GPL/FDL: software,
hardware, drawings, documentation,
etc.

Giulio Sandini

…a development tool to exploit today’s
robotic technologies
Intelligence
Vision Sensors

Motors/Gears
In collaboration with
our industrial partner

Electronics

Force Torque Sensors

Tactile Sensors

Giulio Sandini

…a development tool to study
future technologies related to
learning, adaptation and,
ultimately, human-like
interaction (as mutual
understanding)


Giulio Sandini

iCub is also a community building tool
iCub is an open system built to
foster the creation of a
multidisciplinary community
iCub and friends


Giulio Sandini

To study friendly interaction along
two main dimensions...
BODY

Improving
compliance makes
Interaction less
dangerous

future

More friendly
Robots

compliance

now

Improving cognitive
skills makes interaction
more «human-like»
MIND
cognition

Progressing along one single axis is not sufficient…

Giulio Sandini

Thank you


Giulio Sandini

...when interacting with others we implicitly
assume that the others are feeling our own
sensations and emotions...


Giulio Sandini

Compliance
Nikos Tsagarakis, Stephen Morfey, Zhibin Li,
Luca Colasanto, Darwin Caldwell
Advanced Robotics Department IIT

Cognition

Giorgio Metta, Lorenzo Natale, Francesco Nori,
Giulio Sandini et. al.
RBCS department at IIT


Giulio Sandini

…in summary: our keywords
o Human Robot Friendly Interaction
o Synergy of Robotics & Neuroscience
o Cognition (prediction abilities)
o Interaction as mutual understanding


Giulio Sandini

Main challenges
• Safety: prediction of action's
outcome (own and others)
• Acceptability: Machines must be
predictable and useful
• Technology: Is silicon and
aluminium the right choice?
Solution has to pass through
interdisciplinary teams

Giulio Sandini

Market e Business Plan


Giulio Sandini

Ubiquitous Robot Companions
(and their infrastructure)
Ubiquitous Robot
Companion


Giulio Sandini

Intelligence is a Technology...


Giulio Sandini

Development Tool (in the case of iPhone)
Apps
Operating System

Application

Middleware

Middleware

iPad

iPhone

iPod

Same Apps for Different Platforms

Giulio Sandini

Main Challanges
1. Lack of «cognition/intelligence»
 Prediction
 Learning
2. Complexity of systems
3. Is “silicon and aluminium” the right technology?
4. Difficult to establish multidisciplinary teams
5. Human acceptance of personal robots


Giulio Sandini

This is how robots are perceived today
Q6: In which area do you think that robots should be used as a priority

Survey made on March 2012 and
published in September 2012


Giulio Sandini

Giuliano Sandini. Robotics and AI

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