Seminar

Abstract: Over the last decade, the idea that robots and agents might participate meaningfully in complex group and organizational contexts has developed from a promising vision into a reality. Robots now assist humans in simple tasks such as delivery through complex, high-stakes tasks such as disaster response and surgery. In this talk, I will introduce […]

Abstract: Deep learning has shown promising results in robotics, but we are still far from having intelligent systems that can operate in the unstructured settings of the real world, where disturbances, variations, and unobserved factors lead to a dynamic environment. In the first part of the talk, I will show that model-based deep RL can […]

Abstract: Robot planning is needed for robots to perform purposeful missions in their environments. In realistic situations, planning does not simply involve getting to a desired destination without collisions, but often requires achieving a desired goal configuration in an optimal or near-optimal fashion. Common optimality criteria include minimum distance, minimum time, and minimum energy. To […]

Abstract: Homo Sapiens is considered a “hyper-cooperative species,” and this aptitude for cooperation may be responsible for our dominance over the Earth. Cooperation promises great benefits, but each participant is vulnerable to exploitation by their partners. Successful cooperation requires trust: acceptance of vulnerability, with confidence that it will not be exploited. The culture of any society […]

Abstract: The concept of “x-ray vision” is widely understood to be the ability to see through structures that are not transparent to the human eye. This concept would be a useful feature for surgeons and surgical robots, particularly when navigating complex anatomy. The Photoacoustic & Ultrasonic Systems Engineering (PULSE) Lab is developing imaging systems to […]

Abstract: For successful integration of autonomous systems such as drones and self-driving cars in our day-to-day life, they must be able to quickly adapt to ever-changing environments, and actively reason about their safety and that of other users and autonomous systems around them. Even though control-theoretic approaches have been used for decades now for the […]

Abstract: Complex real-world environments continue to present significant challenges for fielding robotic teams, which often face expansive spatial scales, difficult and dynamic terrain, degraded environmental conditions, and severe communication constraints. Breakthrough technologies call for integrated solutions across autonomy, perception, networking, mobility, and human teaming thrusts. As such, the DARPA OFFSET program and the DARPA Subterranean […]