Cognitive Robotics

We believe that to create truly intelligent autonomous robots that will collaborate with a human, the robots must use similar representations and similar reasoning mechanisms to a human. In the work we use a computational cognitive modeling tool, ACT-R, to develop reasoning and representations based on human models. This has been applied to tasks such as hiding and seeking, and to a very critical ability for collaboration -- perspective taking.

Human-Robot Interaction

Development of principles, and techniques for better interaction between humans and dynamically autonomous robots (including autonomous vehicles). Techniques under investigation include: multi-modal interfaces that combine speech , gestures, PDAs and other modes of interaction; the use of computational cognitive models of human behavior as reasoning mechanisms for dynamically autonomous robots; and development of dynamic autonomy and mixed-initiative interaction. We are investigating these interactions in the context of teams of humans and multi-robot systems.