Promoting the Integration of Intelligent Human Assistants in Society through the Development of Robotic Sensory-based Intelligence and Control Technologies

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Robots have recently been defined to be one of the most influential technologies of the 21st century. Now more than ever, they are seen as a unique strategic technology that will become an important part of society. However, the personal/service robots currently in use today can only perform very specialized tasks in well-structured environments, with the vast majority working on their own to perform preprogrammed behaviours to accomplish a single task that usually does not involve humans. A grand challenge that still must be addressed for the widespread implementation of robots in our everyday lives is sensory-based intelligence and control. The proposed research will address this crucial challenge through three pertinent research sub-themes: 1) multi-modal sensing, 2) robot social intelligence, and 3) human-robot interaction (HRI) control architectures. These sub-themes are important in equipping robots for society with the perception and cognition needed to perform complex and interactive behaviours pertinent to assisting multiple non-expert human users in numerous tasks in varying real-world applications. The goal of the overall proposed research program is to develop novel intelligent and autonomous robotic technologies to be used as effective assistants in person-centered real-world environments.