Interfacing Intelligent Software to Robotic Peripherals

Abstract

This research addresses the problems of connecting artificially intelligent software to robotic hardware peripherals. A modelling framework for the study of these problems is presented. In particular, an attempt is made to integrate concepts from physiological psychology in a structural model of robotic behavior. Research plans are discussed for the implementation and assessment of the capability of this general model to overcome the traditional difficulties of interfacing task plans with robotic hardware. These difficulties include declarative versus procedural control, symbolic versus numeric computing environments, task-level versus robot-level languages, differing speed and bandwidth requirements, and differing scope and granularity of robotic peripherals.

This model is the working design for the control and communication structure of DAISIE ( Distributed Artificially Intelligent System for Interacting with the Environment), a testbed for intelligent telerobotic research developed at the NASA Langley Research Center. The use of this model in the projected implementation of telerobotic tasks for space operations is briefly described.