Wednesday, Sept. 25, 10:15 - 11:00, Plenary Hall

Fumio Harashima (Tokyo Denki University)

Interaction and Intelligence

The goal of this research project is to develop so-called "artificial life", which maximally enhances human abilities on intelligent and/or physical actions. It is expected for both human and mechanical systems to grow more intelligent through mutual interactions, either physically or on information basis. The research topics of this project include integration and fusion of sensing and decision, smart actuators, intelligent interface, intelligent robots, learning machines, intelligent micro-machines, virtual reality, intelligent mechatronics, and so on.

Thursday, Sept. 26, 13:20 - 14:05, Plenary Hall

Oussama Khatib (Stanford University)

Human-centered Robotics and Interactive Haptic Simulation

A new field of robotics is emerging. Robots are today moving towards applications beyond the structured environment of a manufacturing plant. They are making their way into the everyday world that people inhabit. The successful introduction of robotics into human environments will rely on the development of competent and practical systems that are dependable, safe, and easy to use. The discussion focuses on models, strategies, and algorithms associated with the autonomous behaviors needed for robots to work, assist, and cooperate with humans. In addition to the new capabilities they bring to the physical robot, these models and algorithms and more generally the body of developments in robotics is having a significant impact on the virtual world. Haptic interaction with an accurate dynamic simulation provides unique insights into the real-world behaviors of physical systems. The potential applications of this emerging technology include virtual prototyping, animation, surgery, robotics, cooperative design, and education among many others. Haptics is one area where the computational requirement associated with the resolution in real-time of the dynamics and contact forces of the virtual environment is particularly challenging. The presentation describes various methodologies and algorithms that address the computational challenges associated with interactive simulations involving multiple contacts and impacts with complex human-like structures.

Friday, Sept. 27, 08:30 - 09:15, Plenary Hall

Luc Steels (Sony CSL Paris and VUB AI Lab, Brussels)

Evolving grounded communication with humanoid robots

Recent advances in integrated autonomous entertainment robots, such as the SONY AIBO or SDR humanoid robot, pose the problem how there can be high level grounded communication between humans and robots. The talk reviews the various requirements and technical issues that need to be solved. It argues that such a communication system needs to be adaptive, both in the sense of acquiring new meanings and new conventions for expressing meaning. Language games are introduced as a framework for realizing adaptive grounded communication. Some examples of implemented experiments are shown.