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29 results (View BibTeX file of all listed publications)

2013

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Probabilistic Object Tracking Using a Range Camera

Wüthrich, M., Pastor, P., Kalakrishnan, M., Bohg, J., Schaal, S.

In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 3195-3202, IEEE, November 2013 (inproceedings)

Abstract
We address the problem of tracking the 6-DoF pose of an object while it is being manipulated by a human or a robot. We use a dynamic Bayesian network to perform inference and compute a posterior distribution over the current object pose. Depending on whether a robot or a human manipulates the object, we employ a process model with or without knowledge of control inputs. Observations are obtained from a range camera. As opposed to previous object tracking methods, we explicitly model self-occlusions and occlusions from the environment, e.g, the human or robotic hand. This leads to a strongly non-linear observation model and additional dependencies in the Bayesian network. We employ a Rao-Blackwellised particle filter to compute an estimate of the object pose at every time step. In a set of experiments, we demonstrate the ability of our method to accurately and robustly track the object pose in real-time while it is being manipulated by a human or a robot.

am

arXiv Video Code Video DOI Project Page [BibTex]

2013

am Wüthrich, M., Pastor, P., Kalakrishnan, M., Bohg, J., Schaal, S. Probabilistic Object Tracking Using a Range Camera In IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 3195-3202, IEEE, November 2013 (inproceedings)

arXiv Video Code Video DOI Project Page [BibTex]

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Hypothesis Testing Framework for Active Object Detection

Sankaran, B., Atanasov, N., Le Ny, J., Koletschka, T., Pappas, G., Daniilidis, K.

In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2013, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
One of the central problems in computer vision is the detection of semantically important objects and the estimation of their pose. Most of the work in object detection has been based on single image processing and its performance is limited by occlusions and ambiguity in appearance and geometry. This paper proposes an active approach to object detection by controlling the point of view of a mobile depth camera. When an initial static detection phase identifies an object of interest, several hypotheses are made about its class and orientation. The sensor then plans a sequence of view-points, which balances the amount of energy used to move with the chance of identifying the correct hypothesis. We formulate an active M-ary hypothesis testing problem, which includes sensor mobility, and solve it using a point-based approximate POMDP algorithm. The validity of our approach is verified through simulation and experiments with real scenes captured by a kinect sensor. The results suggest a significant improvement over static object detection.

am

pdf [BibTex]

am Sankaran, B., Atanasov, N., Le Ny, J., Koletschka, T., Pappas, G., Daniilidis, K. Hypothesis Testing Framework for Active Object Detection In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), May 2013, clmc (inproceedings)

pdf [BibTex]

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Action and Goal Related Decision Variables Modulate the Competition Between Multiple Potential Targets

Enachescu, V, Christopoulos, Vassilios N, Schrater, P. R., Schaal, S.

In Abstracts of Neural Control of Movement Conference (NCM 2013), February 2013 (inproceedings)

am

[BibTex]

am Enachescu, V, Christopoulos, Vassilios N, Schrater, P. R., Schaal, S. Action and Goal Related Decision Variables Modulate the Competition Between Multiple Potential Targets In Abstracts of Neural Control of Movement Conference (NCM 2013), February 2013 (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

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Fusing visual and tactile sensing for 3-D object reconstruction while grasping

Ilonen, J., Bohg, J., Kyrki, V.

In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 3547-3554, 2013 (inproceedings)

Abstract
In this work, we propose to reconstruct a complete 3-D model of an unknown object by fusion of visual and tactile information while the object is grasped. Assuming the object is symmetric, a first hypothesis of its complete 3-D shape is generated from a single view. This initial model is used to plan a grasp on the object which is then executed with a robotic manipulator equipped with tactile sensors. Given the detected contacts between the fingers and the object, the full object model including the symmetry parameters can be refined. This refined model will then allow the planning of more complex manipulation tasks. The main contribution of this work is an optimal estimation approach for the fusion of visual and tactile data applying the constraint of object symmetry. The fusion is formulated as a state estimation problem and solved with an iterative extended Kalman filter. The approach is validated experimentally using both artificial and real data from two different robotic platforms.

am

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

am Ilonen, J., Bohg, J., Kyrki, V. Fusing visual and tactile sensing for 3-D object reconstruction while grasping In IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pages: 3547-3554, 2013 (inproceedings)

DOI Project Page [BibTex]

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Learning Objective Functions for Manipulation

Kalakrishnan, M., Pastor, P., Righetti, L., Schaal, S.

In 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, IEEE, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013 (inproceedings)

Abstract
We present an approach to learning objective functions for robotic manipulation based on inverse reinforcement learning. Our path integral inverse reinforcement learning algorithm can deal with high-dimensional continuous state-action spaces, and only requires local optimality of demonstrated trajectories. We use L 1 regularization in order to achieve feature selection, and propose an efficient algorithm to minimize the resulting convex objective function. We demonstrate our approach by applying it to two core problems in robotic manipulation. First, we learn a cost function for redundancy resolution in inverse kinematics. Second, we use our method to learn a cost function over trajectories, which is then used in optimization-based motion planning for grasping and manipulation tasks. Experimental results show that our method outperforms previous algorithms in high-dimensional settings.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Kalakrishnan, M., Pastor, P., Righetti, L., Schaal, S. Learning Objective Functions for Manipulation In 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, IEEE, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Learning Task Error Models for Manipulation

Pastor, P., Kalakrishnan, M., Binney, J., Kelly, J., Righetti, L., Sukhatme, G. S., Schaal, S.

In 2013 IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, IEEE, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013 (inproceedings)

Abstract
Precise kinematic forward models are important for robots to successfully perform dexterous grasping and manipulation tasks, especially when visual servoing is rendered infeasible due to occlusions. A lot of research has been conducted to estimate geometric and non-geometric parameters of kinematic chains to minimize reconstruction errors. However, kinematic chains can include non-linearities, e.g. due to cable stretch and motor-side encoders, that result in significantly different errors for different parts of the state space. Previous work either does not consider such non-linearities or proposes to estimate non-geometric parameters of carefully engineered models that are robot specific. We propose a data-driven approach that learns task error models that account for such unmodeled non-linearities. We argue that in the context of grasping and manipulation, it is sufficient to achieve high accuracy in the task relevant state space. We identify this relevant state space using previously executed joint configurations and learn error corrections for those. Therefore, our system is developed to generate subsequent executions that are similar to previous ones. The experiments show that our method successfully captures the non-linearities in the head kinematic chain (due to a counterbalancing spring) and the arm kinematic chains (due to cable stretch) of the considered experimental platform, see Fig. 1. The feasibility of the presented error learning approach has also been evaluated in independent DARPA ARM-S testing contributing to successfully complete 67 out of 72 grasping and manipulation tasks.

am mg

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am mg Pastor, P., Kalakrishnan, M., Binney, J., Kelly, J., Righetti, L., Sukhatme, G. S., Schaal, S. Learning Task Error Models for Manipulation In 2013 IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, IEEE, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2013 (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2005

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Natural Actor-Critic

Peters, J., Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Machine Learning, 3720, pages: 280-291, (Editors: Gama, J.;Camacho, R.;Brazdil, P.;Jorge, A.;Torgo, L.), Springer, ECML, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
This paper investigates a novel model-free reinforcement learning architecture, the Natural Actor-Critic. The actor updates are based on stochastic policy gradients employing AmariÕs natural gradient approach, while the critic obtains both the natural policy gradient and additional parameters of a value function simultaneously by linear regres- sion. We show that actor improvements with natural policy gradients are particularly appealing as these are independent of coordinate frame of the chosen policy representation, and can be estimated more efficiently than regular policy gradients. The critic makes use of a special basis function parameterization motivated by the policy-gradient compatible function approximation. We show that several well-known reinforcement learning methods such as the original Actor-Critic and BradtkeÕs Linear Quadratic Q-Learning are in fact Natural Actor-Critic algorithms. Em- pirical evaluations illustrate the effectiveness of our techniques in com- parison to previous methods, and also demonstrate their applicability for learning control on an anthropomorphic robot arm.

am ei

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

2005

am ei Peters, J., Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. Natural Actor-Critic In Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Machine Learning, 3720, pages: 280-291, (Editors: Gama, J.;Camacho, R.;Brazdil, P.;Jorge, A.;Torgo, L.), Springer, ECML, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Comparative experiments on task space control with redundancy resolution

Nakanishi, J., Cory, R., Mistry, M., Peters, J., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 3901-3908, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 2-6, IROS, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Understanding the principles of motor coordination with redundant degrees of freedom still remains a challenging problem, particularly for new research in highly redundant robots like humanoids. Even after more than a decade of research, task space control with redundacy resolution still remains an incompletely understood theoretical topic, and also lacks a larger body of thorough experimental investigation on complex robotic systems. This paper presents our first steps towards the development of a working redundancy resolution algorithm which is robust against modeling errors and unforeseen disturbances arising from contact forces. To gain a better understanding of the pros and cons of different approaches to redundancy resolution, we focus on a comparative empirical evaluation. First, we review several redundancy resolution schemes at the velocity, acceleration and torque levels presented in the literature in a common notational framework and also introduce some new variants of these previous approaches. Second, we present experimental comparisons of these approaches on a seven-degree-of-freedom anthropomorphic robot arm. Surprisingly, one of our simplest algorithms empirically demonstrates the best performance, despite, from a theoretical point, the algorithm does not share the same beauty as some of the other methods. Finally, we discuss practical properties of these control algorithms, particularly in light of inevitable modeling errors of the robot dynamics.

am ei

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

am ei Nakanishi, J., Cory, R., Mistry, M., Peters, J., Schaal, S. Comparative experiments on task space control with redundancy resolution In Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pages: 3901-3908, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 2-6, IROS, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) DOI [BibTex]

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Predicting EMG Data from M1 Neurons with Variational Bayesian Least Squares

Ting, J., D’Souza, A., Yamamoto, K., Yoshioka, T., Hoffman, D., Kakei, S., Sergio, L., Kalaska, J., Kawato, M., Strick, P., Schaal, S.

In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 18 (NIPS 2005), (Editors: Weiss, Y.;Schölkopf, B.;Platt, J.), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, Vancouver, BC, Dec. 6-11, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
An increasing number of projects in neuroscience requires the statistical analysis of high dimensional data sets, as, for instance, in predicting behavior from neural firing, or in operating artificial devices from brain recordings in brain-machine interfaces. Linear analysis techniques remain prevalent in such cases, but classi-cal linear regression approaches are often numercially too fragile in high dimen-sions. In this paper, we address the question of whether EMG data collected from arm movements of monkeys can be faithfully reconstructed with linear ap-proaches from neural activity in primary motor cortex (M1). To achieve robust data analysis, we develop a full Bayesian approach to linear regression that automatically detects and excludes irrelevant features in the data, and regular-izes against overfitting. In comparison with ordinary least squares, stepwise re-gression, partial least squares, and a brute force combinatorial search for the most predictive input features in the data, we demonstrate that the new Bayesian method offers a superior mixture of characteristics in terms of regularization against overfitting, computational efficiency, and ease of use, demonstrating its potential as a drop-in replacement for other linear regression techniques. As neuroscientific results, our analyses demonstrate that EMG data can be well pre-dicted from M1 neurons, further opening the path for possible real-time inter-faces between brains and machines.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Ting, J., D’Souza, A., Yamamoto, K., Yoshioka, T., Hoffman, D., Kakei, S., Sergio, L., Kalaska, J., Kawato, M., Strick, P., Schaal, S. Predicting EMG Data from M1 Neurons with Variational Bayesian Least Squares In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 18 (NIPS 2005), (Editors: Weiss, Y.;Schölkopf, B.;Platt, J.), Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, Vancouver, BC, Dec. 6-11, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Rapbid synchronization and accurate phase-locking of rhythmic motor primitives

Pongas, D., Billard, A., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2005), pages: 2911-2916, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 2-6, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Rhythmic movement is ubiquitous in human and animal behavior, e.g., as in locomotion, dancing, swimming, chewing, scratching, music playing, etc. A particular feature of rhythmic movement in biology is the rapid synchronization and phase locking with other rhythmic events in the environment, for instance music or visual stimuli as in ball juggling. In traditional oscillator theories to rhythmic movement generation, synchronization with another signal is relatively slow, and it is not easy to achieve accurate phase locking with a particular feature of the driving stimulus. Using a recently developed framework of dynamic motor primitives, we demonstrate a novel algorithm for very rapid synchronizaton of a rhythmic movement pattern, which can phase lock any feature of the movement to any particulur event in the driving stimulus. As an example application, we demonstrate how an anthropomorphic robot can use imitation learning to acquire a complex rumming pattern and keep it synchronized with an external rhythm generator that changes its frequency over time.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Pongas, D., Billard, A., Schaal, S. Rapbid synchronization and accurate phase-locking of rhythmic motor primitives In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2005), pages: 2911-2916, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 2-6, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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A new methodology for robot control design

Peters, J., Mistry, M., Udwadia, F. E., Schaal, S.

In The 5th ASME International Conference on Multibody Systems, Nonlinear Dynamics, and Control (MSNDC 2005), Long Beach, CA, Sept. 24-28, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Gauss principle of least constraint and its generalizations have provided a useful insights for the development of tracking controllers for mechanical systems (Udwadia,2003). Using this concept, we present a novel methodology for the design of a specific class of robot controllers. With our new framework, we demonstrate that well-known and also several novel nonlinear robot control laws can be derived from this generic framework, and show experimental verifications on a Sarcos Master Arm robot for some of these controllers. We believe that the suggested approach unifies and simplifies the design of optimal nonlinear control laws for robots obeying rigid body dynamics equations, both with or without external constraints, holonomic or nonholonomic constraints, with over-actuation or underactuation, as well as open-chain and closed-chain kinematics.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Peters, J., Mistry, M., Udwadia, F. E., Schaal, S. A new methodology for robot control design In The 5th ASME International Conference on Multibody Systems, Nonlinear Dynamics, and Control (MSNDC 2005), Long Beach, CA, Sept. 24-28, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Arm movement experiments with joint space force fields using an exoskeleton robot

Mistry, M., Mohajerian, P., Schaal, S.

In IEEE Ninth International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, pages: 408-413, Chicago, Illinois, June 28-July 1, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
A new experimental platform permits us to study a novel variety of issues of human motor control, particularly full 3-D movements involving the major seven degrees-of-freedom (DOF) of the human arm. We incorporate a seven DOF robot exoskeleton, and can minimize weight and inertia through gravity, Coriolis, and inertia compensation, such that subjects' arm movements are largely unaffected by the manipulandum. Torque perturbations can be individually applied to any or all seven joints of the human arm, thus creating novel dynamic environments, or force fields, for subjects to respond and adapt to. Our first study investigates a joint space force field where the shoulder velocity drives a disturbing force in the elbow joint. Results demonstrate that subjects learn to compensate for the force field within about 100 trials, and from the strong presence of aftereffects when removing the field in some randomized catch trials, that an inverse dynamics, or internal model, of the force field is formed by the nervous system. Interestingly, while post-learning hand trajectories return to baseline, joint space trajectories remained changed in response to the field, indicating that besides learning a model of the force field, the nervous system also chose to exploit the space to minimize the effects of the force field on the realization of the endpoint trajectory plan. Further applications for our apparatus include studies in motor system redundancy resolution and inverse kinematics, as well as rehabilitation.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Mistry, M., Mohajerian, P., Schaal, S. Arm movement experiments with joint space force fields using an exoskeleton robot In IEEE Ninth International Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics, pages: 408-413, Chicago, Illinois, June 28-July 1, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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A unifying framework for the control of robotics systems

Peters, J., Mistry, M., Udwadia, F. E., Cory, R., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2005), pages: 1824-1831, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 2-6, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Recently, [1] suggested to derive tracking controllers for mechanical systems using a generalization of GaussÕ principle of least constraint. This method al-lows us to reformulate control problems as a special class of optimal control. We take this line of reasoning one step further and demonstrate that well-known and also several novel nonlinear robot control laws can be derived from this generic methodology. We show experimental verifications on a Sar-cos Master Arm robot for some of the the derived controllers.We believe that the suggested approach offers a promising unification and simplification of nonlinear control law design for robots obeying rigid body dynamics equa-tions, both with or without external constraints, with over-actuation or under-actuation, as well as open-chain and closed-chain kinematics.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Peters, J., Mistry, M., Udwadia, F. E., Cory, R., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S. A unifying framework for the control of robotics systems In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2005), pages: 1824-1831, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 2-6, 2005, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

2002

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Learning rhythmic movements by demonstration using nonlinear oscillators

Ijspeert, J. A., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2002), pages: 958-963, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, Lausanne, Sept.30-Oct.4 2002, 2002, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Locally weighted learning (LWL) is a class of statistical learning techniques that provides useful representations and training algorithms for learning about complex phenomena during autonomous adaptive control of robotic systems. This paper introduces several LWL algorithms that have been tested successfully in real-time learning of complex robot tasks. We discuss two major classes of LWL, memory-based LWL and purely incremental LWL that does not need to remember any data explicitly. In contrast to the traditional beliefs that LWL methods cannot work well in high-dimensional spaces, we provide new algorithms that have been tested in up to 50 dimensional learning problems. The applicability of our LWL algorithms is demonstrated in various robot learning examples, including the learning of devil-sticking, pole-balancing of a humanoid robot arm, and inverse-dynamics learning for a seven degree-of-freedom robot.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

2002

am Ijspeert, J. A., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S. Learning rhythmic movements by demonstration using nonlinear oscillators In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2002), pages: 958-963, Piscataway, NJ: IEEE, Lausanne, Sept.30-Oct.4 2002, 2002, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Movement imitation with nonlinear dynamical systems in humanoid robots

Ijspeert, J. A., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S.

In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2002), Washinton, May 11-15 2002, 2002, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Locally weighted learning (LWL) is a class of statistical learning techniques that provides useful representations and training algorithms for learning about complex phenomena during autonomous adaptive control of robotic systems. This paper introduces several LWL algorithms that have been tested successfully in real-time learning of complex robot tasks. We discuss two major classes of LWL, memory-based LWL and purely incremental LWL that does not need to remember any data explicitly. In contrast to the traditional beliefs that LWL methods cannot work well in high-dimensional spaces, we provide new algorithms that have been tested in up to 50 dimensional learning problems. The applicability of our LWL algorithms is demonstrated in various robot learning examples, including the learning of devil-sticking, pole-balancing of a humanoid robot arm, and inverse-dynamics learning for a seven degree-of-freedom robot.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Ijspeert, J. A., Nakanishi, J., Schaal, S. Movement imitation with nonlinear dynamical systems in humanoid robots In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2002), Washinton, May 11-15 2002, 2002, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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A locally weighted learning composite adaptive controller with structure adaptation

Nakanishi, J., Farrell, J. A., Schaal, S.

In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2002), Lausanne, Sept.30-Oct.4 2002, 2002, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
This paper introduces a provably stable adaptive learning controller which employs nonlinear function approximation with automatic growth of the learning network according to the nonlinearities and the working domain of the control system. The unknown function in the dynamical system is approximated by piecewise linear models using a nonparametric regression technique. Local models are allocated as necessary and their parameters are optimized on-line. Inspired by composite adaptive control methods, the pro-posed learning adaptive control algorithm uses both the tracking error and the estimation error to up-date the parameters. We provide Lyapunov analyses that demonstrate the stability properties of the learning controller. Numerical simulations illustrate rapid convergence of the tracking error and the automatic structure adaptation capability of the function approximator. This paper introduces a provably stable adaptive learning controller which employs nonlinear function approximation with automatic growth of the learning network according to the nonlinearities and the working domain of the control system. The unknown function in the dynamical system is approximated by piecewise linear models using a nonparametric regression technique. Local models are allocated as necessary and their parameters are optimized on-line. Inspired by composite adaptive control methods, the pro-posed learning adaptive control algorithm uses both the tracking error and the estimation error to up-date the parameters. We provide Lyapunov analyses that demonstrate the stability properties of the learning controller. Numerical simulations illustrate rapid convergence of the tracking error and the automatic structure adaptation capability of the function approximator

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Nakanishi, J., Farrell, J. A., Schaal, S. A locally weighted learning composite adaptive controller with structure adaptation In IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2002), Lausanne, Sept.30-Oct.4 2002, 2002, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

2000

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Reciprocal excitation between biological and robotic research

Schaal, S., Sternad, D., Dean, W., Kotoska, S., Osu, R., Kawato, M.

In Sensor Fusion and Decentralized Control in Robotic Systems III, Proceedings of SPIE, 4196, pages: 30-40, Boston, MA, Nov.5-8, 2000, November 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
While biological principles have inspired researchers in computational and engineering research for a long time, there is still rather limited knowledge flow back from computational to biological domains. This paper presents examples of our work where research on anthropomorphic robots lead us to new insights into explaining biological movement phenomena, starting from behavioral studies up to brain imaging studies. Our research over the past years has focused on principles of trajectory formation with nonlinear dynamical systems, on learning internal models for nonlinear control, and on advanced topics like imitation learning. The formal and empirical analyses of the kinematics and dynamics of movements systems and the tasks that they need to perform lead us to suggest principles of motor control that later on we found surprisingly related to human behavior and even brain activity.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

2000

am Schaal, S., Sternad, D., Dean, W., Kotoska, S., Osu, R., Kawato, M. Reciprocal excitation between biological and robotic research In Sensor Fusion and Decentralized Control in Robotic Systems III, Proceedings of SPIE, 4196, pages: 30-40, Boston, MA, Nov.5-8, 2000, November 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Nonlinear dynamical systems as movement primitives

Schaal, S., Kotosaka, S., Sternad, D.

In Humanoids2000, First IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, CD-Proceedings, Cambridge, MA, September 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
This paper explores the idea to create complex human-like movements from movement primitives based on nonlinear attractor dynamics. Each degree-of-freedom of a limb is assumed to have two independent abilities to create movement, one through a discrete dynamic system, and one through a rhythmic system. The discrete system creates point-to-point movements based on internal or external target specifications. The rhythmic system can add an additional oscillatory movement relative to the current position of the discrete system. In the present study, we develop appropriate dynamic systems that can realize the above model, motivate the particular choice of the systems from a biological and engineering point of view, and present simulation results of the performance of such movement primitives. The model was implemented for a drumming task on a humanoid robot

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Schaal, S., Kotosaka, S., Sternad, D. Nonlinear dynamical systems as movement primitives In Humanoids2000, First IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, CD-Proceedings, Cambridge, MA, September 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Real Time Learning in Humanoids: A challenge for scalability of Online Algorithms

Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S.

In Humanoids2000, First IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, CD-Proceedings, Cambridge, MA, September 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
While recent research in neural networks and statistical learning has focused mostly on learning from finite data sets without stringent constraints on computational efficiency, there is an increasing number of learning problems that require real-time performance from an essentially infinite stream of incrementally arriving data. This paper demonstrates how even high-dimensional learning problems of this kind can successfully be dealt with by techniques from nonparametric regression and locally weighted learning. As an example, we describe the application of one of the most advanced of such algorithms, Locally Weighted Projection Regression (LWPR), to the on-line learning of the inverse dynamics model of an actual seven degree-of-freedom anthropomorphic robot arm. LWPR's linear computational complexity in the number of input dimensions, its inherent mechanisms of local dimensionality reduction, and its sound learning rule based on incremental stochastic leave-one-out cross validation allows -- to our knowledge for the first time -- implementing inverse dynamics learning for such a complex robot with real-time performance. In our sample task, the robot acquires the local inverse dynamics model needed to trace a figure-8 in only 60 seconds of training.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. Real Time Learning in Humanoids: A challenge for scalability of Online Algorithms In Humanoids2000, First IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots, CD-Proceedings, Cambridge, MA, September 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Synchronized robot drumming by neural oscillator

Kotosaka, S., Schaal, S.

In The International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines, Montreal, Canada, August 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Sensory-motor integration is one of the key issues in robotics. In this paper, we propose an approach to rhythmic arm movement control that is synchronized with an external signal based on exploiting a simple neural oscillator network. Trajectory generation by the neural oscillator is a biologically inspired method that can allow us to generate a smooth and continuous trajectory. The parameter tuning of the oscillators is used to generate a synchronized movement with wide intervals. We adopted the method for the drumming task as an example task. By using this method, the robot can realize synchronized drumming with wide drumming intervals in real time. The paper also shows the experimental results of drumming by a humanoid robot.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Kotosaka, S., Schaal, S. Synchronized robot drumming by neural oscillator In The International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines, Montreal, Canada, August 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Real-time robot learning with locally weighted statistical learning

Schaal, S., Atkeson, C. G., Vijayakumar, S.

In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), San Francisco, April 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Locally weighted learning (LWL) is a class of statistical learning techniques that provides useful representations and training algorithms for learning about complex phenomena during autonomous adaptive control of robotic systems. This paper introduces several LWL algorithms that have been tested successfully in real-time learning of complex robot tasks. We discuss two major classes of LWL, memory-based LWL and purely incremental LWL that does not need to remember any data explicitly. In contrast to the traditional beliefs that LWL methods cannot work well in high-dimensional spaces, we provide new algorithms that have been tested in up to 50 dimensional learning problems. The applicability of our LWL algorithms is demonstrated in various robot learning examples, including the learning of devil-sticking, pole-balancing of a humanoid robot arm, and inverse-dynamics learning for a seven degree-of-freedom robot.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Schaal, S., Atkeson, C. G., Vijayakumar, S. Real-time robot learning with locally weighted statistical learning In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), San Francisco, April 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Fast learning of biomimetic oculomotor control with nonparametric regression networks

Shibata, T., Schaal, S.

In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), pages: 3847-3854, San Francisco, April 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Accurate oculomotor control is one of the essential pre-requisites of successful visuomotor coordination. Given the variable nonlinearities of the geometry of binocular vision as well as the possible nonlinearities of the oculomotor plant, it is desirable to accomplish accurate oculomotor control through learning approaches. In this paper, we investigate learning control for a biomimetic active vision system mounted on a humanoid robot. By combining a biologically inspired cerebellar learning scheme with a state-of-the-art statistical learning network, our robot system is able to acquire high performance visual stabilization reflexes after about 40 seconds of learning despite significant nonlinearities and processing delays in the system.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Shibata, T., Schaal, S. Fast learning of biomimetic oculomotor control with nonparametric regression networks In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), pages: 3847-3854, San Francisco, April 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Locally weighted projection regression: An O(n) algorithm for incremental real time learning in high dimensional spaces

Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2000), 1, pages: 288-293, Stanford, CA, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Locally weighted projection regression is a new algorithm that achieves nonlinear function approximation in high dimensional spaces with redundant and irrelevant input dimensions. At its core, it uses locally linear models, spanned by a small number of univariate regressions in selected directions in input space. This paper evaluates different methods of projection regression and derives a nonlinear function approximator based on them. This nonparametric local learning system i) learns rapidly with second order learning methods based on incremental training, ii) uses statistically sound stochastic cross validation to learn iii) adjusts its weighting kernels based on local information only, iv) has a computational complexity that is linear in the number of inputs, and v) can deal with a large number of - possibly redundant - inputs, as shown in evaluations with up to 50 dimensional data sets. To our knowledge, this is the first truly incremental spatially localized learning method to combine all these properties.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. Locally weighted projection regression: An O(n) algorithm for incremental real time learning in high dimensional spaces In Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2000), 1, pages: 288-293, Stanford, CA, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Inverse kinematics for humanoid robots

Tevatia, G., Schaal, S.

In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), pages: 294-299, San Fransisco, April 24-28, 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Real-time control of the endeffector of a humanoid robot in external coordinates requires computationally efficient solutions of the inverse kinematics problem. In this context, this paper investigates methods of resolved motion rate control (RMRC) that employ optimization criteria to resolve kinematic redundancies. In particular we focus on two established techniques, the pseudo inverse with explicit optimization and the extended Jacobian method. We prove that the extended Jacobian method includes pseudo-inverse methods as a special solution. In terms of computational complexity, however, pseudo-inverse and extended Jacobian differ significantly in favor of pseudo-inverse methods. Employing numerical estimation techniques, we introduce a computationally efficient version of the extended Jacobian with performance comparable to the original version . Our results are illustrated in simulation studies with a multiple degree-of-freedom robot, and were tested on a 30 degree-of-freedom robot. 

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Tevatia, G., Schaal, S. Inverse kinematics for humanoid robots In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), pages: 294-299, San Fransisco, April 24-28, 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Fast and efficient incremental learning for high-dimensional movement systems

Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S.

In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), San Francisco, April 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
We introduce a new algorithm, Locally Weighted Projection Regression (LWPR), for incremental real-time learning of nonlinear functions, as particularly useful for problems of autonomous real-time robot control that re-quires internal models of dynamics, kinematics, or other functions. At its core, LWPR uses locally linear models, spanned by a small number of univariate regressions in selected directions in input space, to achieve piecewise linear function approximation. The most outstanding properties of LWPR are that it i) learns rapidly with second order learning methods based on incremental training, ii) uses statistically sound stochastic cross validation to learn iii) adjusts its local weighting kernels based on only local information to avoid interference problems, iv) has a computational complexity that is linear in the number of inputs, and v) can deal with a large number ofâ??possibly redundant and/or irrelevantâ??inputs, as shown in evaluations with up to 50 dimensional data sets for learning the inverse dynamics of an anthropomorphic robot arm. To our knowledge, this is the first incremental neural network learning method to combine all these properties and that is well suited for complex on-line learning problems in robotics.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. Fast and efficient incremental learning for high-dimensional movement systems In International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA2000), San Francisco, April 2000, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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On-line learning for humanoid robot systems

Conradt, J., Tevatia, G., Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2000), 1, pages: 191-198, Stanford, CA, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

Abstract
Humanoid robots are high-dimensional movement systems for which analytical system identification and control methods are insufficient due to unknown nonlinearities in the system structure. As a way out, supervised learning methods can be employed to create model-based nonlinear controllers which use functions in the control loop that are estimated by learning algorithms. However, internal models for humanoid systems are rather high-dimensional such that conventional learning algorithms would suffer from slow learning speed, catastrophic interference, and the curse of dimensionality. In this paper we explore a new statistical learning algorithm, locally weighted projection regression (LWPR), for learning internal models in real-time. LWPR is a nonparametric spatially localized learning system that employs the less familiar technique of partial least squares regression to represent functional relationships in a piecewise linear fashion. The algorithm can work successfully in very high dimensional spaces and detect irrelevant and redundant inputs while only requiring a computational complexity that is linear in the number of input dimensions. We demonstrate the application of the algorithm in learning two classical internal models of robot control, the inverse kinematics and the inverse dynamics of an actual seven degree-of-freedom anthropomorphic robot arm. For both examples, LWPR can achieve excellent real-time learning results from less than one hour of actual training data.

am

link (url) [BibTex]

am Conradt, J., Tevatia, G., Vijayakumar, S., Schaal, S. On-line learning for humanoid robot systems In Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2000), 1, pages: 191-198, Stanford, CA, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

link (url) [BibTex]

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Humanoid Robot DB

Kotosaka, S., Shibata, T., Schaal, S.

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Automation (ICMA2000), pages: 21-26, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

am

[BibTex]

am Kotosaka, S., Shibata, T., Schaal, S. Humanoid Robot DB In Proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Automation (ICMA2000), pages: 21-26, 2000, clmc (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

1995

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A kendama learning robot based on a dynamic optimization theory

Miyamoto, H., Gandolfo, F., Gomi, H., Schaal, S., Koike, Y., Osu, R., Nakano, E., Kawato, M.

In Preceedings of the 4th IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Communication (RO-MAN’95), pages: 327-332, Tokyo, July 1995, clmc (inproceedings)

am

[BibTex]

1995

am Miyamoto, H., Gandolfo, F., Gomi, H., Schaal, S., Koike, Y., Osu, R., Nakano, E., Kawato, M. A kendama learning robot based on a dynamic optimization theory In Preceedings of the 4th IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Communication (RO-MAN’95), pages: 327-332, Tokyo, July 1995, clmc (inproceedings)

[BibTex]

1992

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What should be learned?

Schaal, S., Atkeson, C. G., Botros, S.

In Proceedings of Seventh Yale Workshop on Adaptive and Learning Systems, pages: 199-204, New Haven, CT, May 20-22, 1992, clmc (inproceedings)

am

[BibTex]

1992

am Schaal, S., Atkeson, C. G., Botros, S. What should be learned? In Proceedings of Seventh Yale Workshop on Adaptive and Learning Systems, pages: 199-204, New Haven, CT, May 20-22, 1992, clmc (inproceedings)

[BibTex]