NSF-CONACyT: Ecological Robotics: A Schema-Theoretic Approach

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This award, under the U.S.-Mexico CONACyT Initiative, is concerned with an in-depth scientific understanding of the nature of the relationship between mobile robotic agents and their environment. The research addresses the agent-environment relationship directly using schema theory and neurophysiological and ethological models to ultimately provide credible, generalizable, and useful results in this domain. These systems will ultimately be grounded in both simulations and actual robotic hardware. An in-depth understanding and dynamic modeling of the relationship a robot has with its environment (i.e., the overall ecology) is important to ensure that fielded robotic systems don't compete inappropriately with other agents that can do the task more effectively (and by competing, reduce their usefuless); that the robots are successful competitors within the ecological system and can potentially displace less efficient agents; and that they are ecologically sensitive so that agent-environmental system dynamics are well-modeled and as predictable as possible whenever new robotic technology is introduced. The research efforts will be tied together through the use of software tools already in existence or under development at both sites, including NSL, a neural simulation language; ASL, an abstract schema language; and MissionLab, a schema-based mission-oriented simulation and robot implementation environment.