Managing robot Development using Agent based Technologies

1
Managing robot Development using Agent based
Technologies

• Dr. Reuven Granot
• Former Scientific Deputy
• Research Technology Unit
• Directorate of Defense, Research Development,
• Israel MoD
• rgranot_at_smile.net.il

2
Two non related problems

• More than a decade ago, we were already facing
• RT software maintenance
• The way is done will soon require more work hours
  than we can support.
• International terror and Low Intensity Combat
• Armor less helpful
• Better use remote operation
• During a sabbatical stay at UBC I realized how
  both problems may have the same solution The
  Agent based Technology

3
Software Development and Maintenance

• The need to reuse software.
• Need to change functionality.
• The need to interconnect systems purchased from
• Different sources
• Developed and manufactured at different times
• Using in many cases old/ obsolete hardware (like
  computers purchased years ago)
• Legacy Systems, we could not afford to replace
• Non compatible and intentionally developed with
  the idea to lock customers to some manufacturers
  market.

4
The need to reuse software

• Control and integration software must be less
  expensive as compared with the other parts of the
  integrated System.
• Improve Software Quality
• Small software units can be better managed
• As much as possible follow consumer products
• are manufactured by assembling standard available
  parts.
• Some intelligence is required to anticipate the
  avarege (less professional) human operator needs
  and expectations.
• Human intervention very different than control of
  SW

5
The need to interconnect

• System of Systems
• Appearance of less expensive and feature rich
  sensors, actuators and controllers, and possible
  use of commercial off the shelf products
• Intelligent interconnection
• There is an increasing requirement /trend to
  network system together, and combine their
  controls and key functions.
• Interconnected systems save time and reduce
  errors
• Enable understanding a larger picture.
• To be used by operators of all types
• Experts
• Reserve and less trained units

6
Remote Operation in combat environment

• It is still preferred by designers because of
  its simplicity, but not suitable for combat
  environment since the human operator
• needs long readjustment time to switch between
  the controlled and the local environment.
• is very much dependent upon the controlled
  process traditional teleoperation model human
  as controller

7
Remote Vehicle Operation Problems

• Operator
• loss of spatial awareness
• disorientation, loss of context
• cognitive errors
• mental model vs. whats really out there
• perceptual errors
• distance judgment, display interpretation
• poor performance
• imprecise control, obstacle detection
• other
• simulator sickness, fatigue

• Communications
• Reduced efficiency performance
• latency, bandwidth, reliability
• System
• - inflexibility static data control flow, task
  specific automation
• - lack of robustness operator variation, human
  resources, etc.
• These problems are due to the traditional
  teleoperation model human as controller

8
The Technology Challenge
in Unstructured Environments.

• The state of the art of the current technology
  has not yet solved the problem of controlling
  complex tasks autonomously in unexpected
  contingent environments.
• ? Consequence A human operator should be able
  to interfere in the supervisory loop.

The needed control metaphor Human Supervised
Autonomous
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Human Robot Interaction

• In supervised autonomously controlled equipment,
  a human operator generates tasks, and a computer
  autonomously closes some of the controlled loops.
  
• Control bandwidth
• Robot SW high
• Human response slow

• Human Operator is expected to
• Control several systems
• be capable to deal with other duties (like a
  combat environment requests) in somehow relaxed
  mode of operation.

Make the machine an agent in human operators
service.
10
The Agent

• An agent is a computer system capable of
  autonomous action in some environments.
• A general way in which the term agent is used is
  to denote a hardware or software-based computer
  system that enjoys the following properties
• autonomy agents operate without the direct
  intervention of humans or others, and have some
  kind of control over their actions and internal
  state
• social ability agents interact with other agents
  (and possibly humans) via some kind of
  agent-communication language
• reactivity agents perceive their environment,
  (which may be the physical world, a user via a
  graphical user interface, or a collection of
  other agents), and respond in a timely fashion to
  changes that occur in it.

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Why Software Control Agents?

• Networked subsystems are naturally distributed.
• The Controller, being responsible for achieving
  the system goals, should be a subassembly of the
  integrated product.
• Itself assembled from smaller, primitive parts.
• Situated in its environment
• Using sensory information and actuators
• Reactive to changes in the environment
• To maintain independence between the assembled
  sub-systems, information (not data) should be
  exchanged.

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The Distributed Control

• The agent is a control subassembly.
• It may be built upon a primitive task or composed
  of an assembly of subordinate agents.
• The agent hierarchy for a specific task is
  pre-planned or defined by the human operator as
  part of the preparation for execution of the
  task.
• The final sequence of operation is deducted from
  the hierarchy or negotiated between agents in the
  hierarchy.

13
Interface Agent

• A software entity, which is capable to represent
  the human in the computer SW environment.
• It acts on behalf of the human
• Follows rules and has a well defined expected
  attitude/ action.
• May be instructed on the fly and may receive
  during mission updated commands from the human
  operator.

We need to build agents in order to carry out
the tasks, without the need to tell the agents
how to perform these tasks.