Pr. Oussama Khatib, Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Stanford University

Human-Centered Robotics

April 30th, 2009
3.00 pm
Lecture hall, Ecole Doctorale on Campus Saint-Priest

Abstract

Robotics is rapidly expanding into human environments and vigorously engaged in its new emerging challenges. Interacting, exploring, and working with humans, the new generation of robots will increasingly touch people and their lives. The successful introduction of robots in human environments will rely on the development of competent and practical systems that are dependable, safe, and easy to use. To effectively work, interact, and cooperate with humans, these robots must display abilities and skills that are compatible with those of humans. This discussion focuses on our ongoing effort to develop human-friendly robotic systems that combine the essential characteristics of safety, human-compatibility, and performance. In the area of human-friendly robot design, our effort has focused on new design concepts for the development of intrinsically safe robotic systems that possess the requisite capabilities and performance to interact and work with humans. Robot design has traditionally relied on the use of rigid structures and powerful motor/gear systems in order to achieve fast motions and produce the needed contact forces. While suited for multitude of tasks in industrial robot applications, the resulting systems are certainly unsafe for human interaction, as they can lead to hazardous impact forces should the robot unexpectedly collide with its environment.

Our work on human-friendly robot design has led to a novel actuation approach, that is based on the so-called Distributed Macro Mini (DM2) Actuation concept. DM2 combines the use of small motors at the joints with pneumatic, muscle-like actuators remotely connected by cables. With this hybrid actuation, the impedance of the resulting robot is decreased by an order of magnitude, making it substantially safer without sacrificing performance. To further increase the robot safety durin its interactions with humans, we have developed an impact absorbent skin that covers its structure. In the area of human-motion synthesis, our objective has been to analyze human motion to unveil its underlying characteristics through the elaboration of its physiological basis, and to formulate general strategies for interactive whole-body robot control. Our exploration has employed
models of human musculoskeletal dynamics and used extensive experimental studies of human subjects with motion capture techniques. This investigation has revealed the dominant role physiological characteristics play in shaping human motion. Using these characteristics we develop generic motion behaviors that efficiently and effectively encode some basic human motion behaviors. To implement these behaviors on robots with complex human-like structures, we developed a unified whole-body task-oriented control structure that addresses dynamics in the context of multiple tasks, multi-point contacts, and multiple constraints. The performance and effectiveness of this approach are demonstrated through extensive robot dynamic simulations and implementations on physical robots for experimental validation.

Biography

Dr. Khatib is Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University. He received his Ph.D. in 1980 from Sup'Aero, Toulouse, France. His current research is in human-centered robotics, haptic interactions, and human-friendly robot design, His exploration in this research ranges from the autonomous ability of a robot to cooperate with a human to the haptic interaction of a user with an animated character or a surgical instrument. Professor Khatib was the Program Chair of ICRA2000 (San Francisco) and Co-Editor of ``The Robotics Review'' (MIT Press). He has served as the Director of the Stanford Computer Forum, an industry affiliate program. He is the President of the International Foundation of Robotics Research, IFRR, Co-Editor of STAR, Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics, and Co-Editor of Springer Handbook of Robotics. Professor Khatib is an IEEE Fellow. He has served as a Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE and is a recipient of the JARA Award.