A robot system being built by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will help robots autonomously navigate a constantly changing environment by making three-dimensional maps that they continuously update.
MIT's system, a project of its Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), is built to navigate entirely on land. The system uses a low-cost camera such as the one in Microsoft’s Kinect motion sensing input device, originally built for the Xbox 360 game platform.
MIT researchers used a Willow Garage PR2 robot with Microsoft's Kinect sensor to test a 3D mapping system that can be continuously updated with new information to help the robot navigate unknown environments. (Source: Hordur Johannsson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
The researchers are developing the navigation system for robots that will be able to move through a constantly changing and new environment with little or no input from humans. Robots with this ability could be used for exploring unknown environments, such as for the military. Or they could help blind people move through public places, such as shopping malls and hospitals, without human aid, said Seth Teller, head of CSAIL's Robotics, Vision, and Sensor Networks group and principal investigator of the human-portable mapping project, in a press release.
Military applications could include mapping a bunker or cave network to enable a quick exit or re-entry. "Or a hazmat team could enter a biological or chemical weapons site and quickly map it on foot, while marking any hazardous spots or objects for handling by a remediation team coming later," said Teller.
The research team is developing algorithms based on Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), said Maurice Fallon, CSAIL research scientist, in the press release. The SLAM-based technique will let robots constantly update maps of their environment and keep track of their own location in it as they learn new information.
It is interesting that this robot uses the Kinect camera system rather than the complex sensors used in the past. It seems that as we continuously develop vision processing that it becomes more useful. It is also often less expensive. Sometimes it is very inexpensive. I have an older BlackBerry Curve. It uses a trackball. I have replaced the trackball. It cost about $2.50. Newer models use a low resolution camera in place of the trackball. It only has to sense the direction of movement, not any other details. So, it works fine and is longer lived than the trackball. It is also simpler to build and probably cheaper to install. Any software cost is amortized over all the devices sold, so that is near zero. This is the same with the robot.
I have seen the robots with multiple laser sensors and sonar or radar. These were fantastically expensive and still not as good as a human operator. Humans use vision. Perhaps the MIT researchers are on to something here.
In the ethics of software column earlier this month, the subject of unintended consequences was discussed, and how no one could predict their creation would be mis-used.
I am constantly amazed how many different ways the Kinect interface (and the Wii interface) have been implemented, demonstrating how versatile a creation can be in a good way.
naperlou, I was also interested to see the Kinect motion sensing camera/system used in aiding with 3D mapmaking. To me, when I read this it was one of those "of course" moments. The team also used laser scanners in a previous rev of this project.
TJ, I agree with you about the unexpected uses of technology innovations. In the case of the Kinect camera/sensor system for this robot app, note that the team also implemented their approach with the Kinect system in a robotic wheelchair and a portable sensor suit, in addition to the PR2 platform.
What I'm getting from your recent spate of apps stories, Ann, is that robotics apps are extending their arms, so to speak, well beyond the straight industrial arena in which I already assumed they were in heavy use. But there seem to be numerous medical, mil, and other apps of which I'd been unaware. Very interesting.
Thanks, Alex. Yes, I was intrigued to discover that robots are all over the place: they're not just for industry anymore, although that's their largest area of concentration. They are in medicine and healthcare, outer space, used by the military in the air and on the ground, and are learning to do all kinds of new things like navigate autonomously in a novel environment, fly in formation in swarms, build structures and even play in concert:
I've been hearing a lot about the Kinect motion system in simulation and other types of 3D apps as well. It seems like another one of those instances where consumer technology is influencing the development of commercial/business applications, which is interesting.
This is interesting TJ, the ethics question came to me also, although I was thinking more during war time. I think we have all seen videos of enemy soldiers trying to surrender to drones - before they get blown up.
The influx of robots in war raises a unique moral question about surrendering to a mechanical entity that a human is monitoring.
Chuck, that video went viral in about a week after it was posted. Although I think much of that is due to the cute and/or novelty factor, I also think much of the engineering appeal will be wondering how they are synchronized in yet another form of swarming behavior.
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