Towards Cosmopolitan Robot: Intelligent Navigation in Extended

Abstract

IN THE PAST, MOBILE ROBOTS HAVE BEEN CONSTRAINED TO OPERATE IN EITHER AN INDOOR OR AN OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT, NOT BOTH. SPECIAL PURPOSE REPRESENTA- TIONS AND AD HOC SENSOR TECHNIQUES GEARED TOWARDS TASKS OF NARROW FOCUS HAVE DOMINATED THESE EFFORTS. IT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS DISSERTATION TO LEAD TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MORE COSMOPOLITAN ROBOT; ONE WHOSE DOMAIN OF INTERACTION IS NOT AS RESTRICTED AS THESE PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS. THE AUTONOMOUS ROBOT ARCHITECTURE (AURA) HAS BEEN DEVELOPED TO MEET THESE CHALLENGES. A MEADOW MAP, USED FOR GLOBAL PATH PLANNING AND CON- TAINING EMBEDDED ''A PRIORI'' KNOWLEDGE TO GUIDE SENSOR EXPECTATIONS, SERVES AS THE ROBOT''S LONG TERM MEMORY. A LAYERED SHORT TERM MEMORY BASED ON INSTANTIATED MEADOWS REPRESENTS THE CURRENTLY PERCEIVED WORLD. A HIERARCHI CAL PATH PLANNER PRODUCES A GLOBAL PATH FREE OF COLLISIONS WITH ALL MODELED OBSTACLES. SCHEMA THEORY IS EXTENDED TO INCLUDE THE MOBILE ROBOT DOMAIN AND SERVES AS THE PRINCIPAL THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK. THE SCHEMA-BASED PATH EXECUTION SYSTEM HANDLES UNEXPECTED AND DYNAMIC OBSTACLES NOT PRESENT IN THE ROBOT''S WORLD MODEL. THIS MOTOR SCHEMA-BASED NAVIGATION SYSTEM PRODUCES REACTIVE/ REFLEXIVE BEHAVIOR IN DIRECT RESPONSE TO SENSOR EVENTS. IN ADDITION, NEW TECHNIQUES IN THE TREATMENT OF ROBOT UNCERTAINTY WHICH EXPEDITE SENSORY PROCESSING ARE PRESENTED. THESE INCLUDE THE USE OF A SPATIAL ERROR MAP WIT