Implicit and explicit communication for cooperation between humanoid robots

在合作完成一项任务（比如移动一个物体）时，人类会混合使用显性交流（比如言语）和隐性交流（比如通过行动暗示的信息）来确保协调。本研究旨在研究从事协作任务的机器人之间的内隐和外显通信之间的关系，目的是在机器人中模仿人类直观的协作方式。通过建立隐式通信作为信息传递的有效渠道，多机器人系统可以通过间接渠道传递信息，从而对环境变化或硬件故障具有容错能力。通过减少必须通过传统的明确手段传递的信息量，系统也可以变得更加有效和经济。潜在的影响是任何多机器人的应用程序，集中协调是不可用的或不受欢迎的，包括任何应用程序，机器人群或集体将适合。本研究有三个目标，每个目标都通过所采用的研究方法进行部分探索：首先，对相关领域的现有文献进行荟萃分析，其次，在此特定研究问题的背景下复制现有文献中开发的技术，最后，进一步发展和新颖整合这些技术，以创造一种受人类互动启发的全新行为。为了实现预期的行为，已经确定了三个关键的兴趣领域。首先，开发一种机器人隐式通信的方式，可能受到群体机器人中隐式通信的现有实现的启发，包括力共识和模仿。其次，在类似的协作任务中，通过在机器人内部实现一个模拟器来模仿人类的直觉，这样它们就可以评估自己行动的后果，并为下一步执行的最佳行动做出决定。最后，探索结合动态领导的概念，根据在任何给定点上最适合的角色，动态地将领导者的角色分配给不同的代理。这将促进两个机构之间有指导的合作，预计这三个领域的结合将使一种新的交流和合作形式得以出现。这项研究与EPSRC的人工智能系统、机器人和控制工程研究领域保持一致。

When cooperating on a task such as moving an object, humans will use a mixture of explicit communication (e.g. speech) and implicit communication (e.g. implied information through action) to ensure coordination. This research is investigating the relationship between implicit and explicit communication between robots engaged in collaborative tasks and aims to mimic in robots the intuitive way humans collaborate. By establishing implicit communication as a valid channel for information transfer, multi-robot systems could be fault-tolerant to environmental changes or hardware failure by conveying information through indirect channels. Systems could also become more efficient and economical by reducing the amount of information that must be transferred through conventional explicit means. The potential impact is on any multi-robot application where centralised coordination is unavailable or undesirable, including any application to which a robotic swarm or collective would be suited. There are three aims for this research that are each explored in part through the research methodology employed: firstly, to perform a meta-analysis of existing literature in related fields, secondly to replicate the techniques developed in existing literature within the context of this specific research question and finally the further development and novel integration of these techniques to create an entirely new behaviour inspired by human-human interaction. Three key areas of interest have been identified to achieve the desired behaviour. Firstly, developing a way for robots to communicate implicitly, potentially inspired by existing implementation of implicit communication within swarm robotics, including force consensus and imitation. Secondly, mimicking human intuition in similar collaborative tasks by implementing an internal simulator within the robot so that they can evaluate the consequences of their actions and make decisions for the best next action to execute. Finally, exploring incorporating the concept of dynamic leadership, dynamically assigning the role of leader to different agents depending on which is best suited to the role at any given point. This will facilitate a guided collaboration between two agents, and it is anticipated that the integration of these three areas will allow for a new form of communication and collaboration to arise. This research aligns itself with EPSRC's artificial intelligence systems, robotics and control engineering research areas.