Natural-Language-Based Robot Action Control Using a Hierarchical Behavior Model

Abstract

In order for humans and robots to interact in daily life, robots need to understand human speech and link it to their actions. This paper proposes a hierarchical behavior model for robot action control using natural language commands. The model, which consists of episodes, primitive actions and atomic functions, uses a sentential cognitive system that includes multiple modules for perception, action, reasoning and memory. Human speech commands are translated to sentences with a natural language processor that are syntactically parsed. A semantic parsing procedure was applied to human speech by analyzing the verbs and phrases of the sentences and linking them to the cognitive information. The cognitive system performed according to the hierarchical behavior model, which consists of episodes, primitive actions and atomic functions, which are implemented in the system. In the experiments, a possible episode, “Water the pot,” was tested and its feasibility was evaluated.