CAREER: Linguistic Control of Mobile Robots

当人类相互指示如何执行特定任务时，与此相反，经典控制理论规定了在每个时刻执行的控制动作。但是，在许多应用中，例如用于工业和家用的半自主服务机器人，智能电器和通信受限的嵌入式和/或遥控设备，控制过程具有自然的，这里的解释是语言控制指令指定特定的操作模式，而不是明确的控制值。这个职业生涯的真正目标是发展和传播合理的方法，以了解如何使用计算机生成的语言输入来控制连续的设备，如移动的机器人。特别是，将研究如何定义，选择，并在保证系统性能指标的前提下，以最小化从计算机传输到机器的比特数为目标进行编码，由此发展了一种信息论方法--控制论，为控制信号的信源编码提供了一种有用的工具，而且还用于描述连续系统应如何解释和操作符号操作。关于在给定的机器应用中使用什么传感器和致动器的问题，该计划的发展将作为电气和计算机工程的教学和研究事业的基础，特别强调控制理论和机器人。特别是，该计划将集中在以下关键领域：混合模型：控制理论模型将被开发用于弥合连续性和非连续性之间的差距。（设备动态）和离散（语言控制输入）。所提出的模型将给予符号输入一个清晰的，控制理论的解释，在同一时间作为不同的表达功率集f控制输入可以明确。复杂性措施和编码理论：提出了一种复杂度的度量方法，它对应于编码一个特定控制过程所需的比特数，并通过建立控制模式集合的概率分布，多模态和多智能体控制设计：在此基础上，我们设计了一系列的控制律，使系统在满足给定要求的同时，又能保持较短的时间间隔，从而使我们的控制律能在一个较短的时间内利用现有的传感器数据，这些结果将被推广到多个领域。智能体控制，在最小化智能体间通信的同时，应实现编队保持和障碍物避免。教育计划：由于拟议工作的多学科性质，格鲁吉亚理工学院将对本科生控制课程进行修改，并将两门高级本科课程纳入课程。将进一步开发一个人工和计算机生成的B b输入可用作运动控制基础的智能体robottestbed。1

When humans instruct each other h w to carry out particular tasks,nly a limited number oftokenized (linguistic)instructions are used.In contrast to this,classic control theory speci .esa control action to be carried out at each time instant.But,in a number f applications,suchas semi-autonomous service robots for industrial and domestic use,intelligent appliances,andcommunication constrained embedded and/or teleoperated devices,the control procedures havea natural,linguistic .avor.The interpretation here is that linguistic control instructions specifyparticular modes f peration rather than explicit control values.The verall objective f this CAREER-prop sal is t develop and disseminate rational meth-ds for understanding how continuous devices,such as mobile rob ts,should be controlled usingcomputer generated,linguistic inputs.In particular,it will be studied how these instructionsshould be de .ned,selected,and coded in rder to minimize the number of bits transmitted fromthe computer t the rob t,while guaranteeing that the system meets its speci .cations.F r this,an information theoretic approach t control theory will be developed,serving as a useful toolnot nly for source coding of control signals,but also for describing how symb lic instructionsshould be interpreted and perated n by the continuous systems.Questions concerning whatsensors and actuators to use in a given rob tic application can be addressed quite elegantlywithin this framew rk as well.The development of this program will serve as a foundation for a teaching and research careerin electrical and computer engineering,with particular emphasis n control theory and rob tics.In particular,the e .ort will be focused n the following key areas:Hybrid Models: Control theoretic models will be developed for bridging the gap between thecontinuous (the device dynamics)and the discrete (the linguistic control inputs).The proposedmodels will give the symbolic inputs a clear,control theoretic interpretation,at the same timeas the expressive p wers of di .erent sets f control inputs can be made explicit.Complexity Measures and Coding Theory: A complexity measure,corresp nding to thenumber of bits needed for c ding a particular control procedure,will be proposed.Furthermore,by establishing probability distributions ver the set f control modes,optimal c ding algorithmscan be derived.Multi-Modal and Multi-Agent Control Design: Strings of appropriate control modes willbe constructed that make the systems meet given speci .cations while keeping the descriptionsshort.F r this we will design control laws that use the available sensory data in an e .cientway.These results will be extended t multi-agent control where formation maintenance andobstacle avoidance should be achieved while minimizing the inter-agent communications.Educational Plan: Due t the multidisciplinary nature f the proposed w rk,the under-graduate control curriculum will be modi .ed and tw senior level undergraduate courses willbe included in the curriculum at the Georgia Institute of Technology.A multi-agent rob tictestbed where b th human and computer generated inputs can be used as a basis for the motioncontrol will furthermore be developed.1