create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The Coming Tipping Point in Robotics Mark W. Spong Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair and Dean Excellence in Education Chair Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 75080

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The Coming Tipping Point in Robotics How many of you interact with a computer at least once a day? How many of you interact with a robot at least once a day? Over the next 25 years robots will be as common as computers are today. Over the next 25 years robots will be as common as computers are today.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science What is a Tipping Point? A Tipping Point refers to a threshold, a moment of attainment of a critical mass resulting in an irreversible and unstoppable change. A Tipping Point in Robotics will result from the impact of Moore’s Law on Communication, Computation, Sensing, and Control.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science What is Moore’s Law? Moore’s Law refers to the exponential increase of computational power and exponential decrease of cost of computers over time. time Number of Transistors Logarithmic scale cost

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The Tipping Point in Computers In 1971 computers were rare, large, slow, and expensive. In 1971 computers were rare, large, slow, and expensive. People generally had to be isolated from computers. People generally had to be isolated from computers. In 2011 computers are ubiquitous, small, fast, and cheap. In 2011 computers are ubiquitous, small, fast, and cheap. Computers share the same space with people. Computers share the same space with people.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The momentum started to build in the 1970’s and early 1980’s (TI, Apple, IBM) The momentum started to build in the 1970’s and early 1980’s (TI, Apple, IBM) The Tipping Point occurred in the 1990s (Internet, Mosaic, Netscape, smartphones) The Tipping Point occurred in the 1990s (Internet, Mosaic, Netscape, smartphones) In effect, the computer industry capitalized on the exponential changes in cost and performance resulting from Moore’s Law. The same thing will happen in Robotics over the next 25 years.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Let’s Start with a Seemingly Simple Question The original notion of a robot was the manipulator arm used in factory automation. What is a Robot? Cincinnati Milacron T3 Robot Unimation `Unimate’ Robot

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science What is a broader notion of a robot? Certainly, everyone would say that Gort is a robot. Is this a robot? Remotely-Piloted Plane

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science What about this? Autonomous Rover DaVinci Surgical System What about these? Roomba Vacuum Cleaner

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The Notion of What Qualifies as a Robot has Changed Greatly Over the Years

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science What are the Attributes of a Robot? Acting Sensing Thinking A Robot Gathers Information about its Environment - Sensing Gathers Information about its Environment - Sensing Processes that Information to Make Decisions - Thinking Processes that Information to Make Decisions - Thinking Performs Work on the Environment – Acting Performs Work on the Environment – Acting Environment

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science So, to be called a robot, an entity must be a machine, i.e. a physical entity capable of `doing real work’ operate in a closed-loop fashion under computer control transforming sensing into action Controls Mechanics Sensors Electronics Software A Robot is a Mechatronic System at the heart of which is Feedback Control. Feedback Control allows: Autonomy Performance in Unstructured Environments Learning

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The Humanoid Robot is the ultimate Mechatronic System and the most like us: It has mechanics (hands, arms, legs) It has sensors (cameras, force, touch) It has a brain (computer) It incorporates feedback control (actions are based on sensed quantities)

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science But is the Humanoid the future of Robotics? In other words, will the future be or Roomba? Rosie?

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science I would argue that a tipping point in robotics will occur at the confluence of three areas: 1.Networked Robots 2.Human-Robot Interaction 3.Telepresence

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Networked Robotics By Networked Robots we mean a group of independent robots that can function as a single coordinated entity by communication and cooperation. Applications include: Surveillance Environmental Monitoring Health Monitoring Cooperative Manipulation Formations of Vehicles Agricultural robotics

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The problem of coordination of networked robots is inspired by natural systems. Examples from nature include: Flocking of Birds Schooling of Fish

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Attitude Synchronization of Networked Robots M. Fujita, Tokyo Institute of Technology M.W. Spong, University of Texas at Dallas This work was begun in CSL and ITI at UIUC, supported by Boeing, NSF, and ONR.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Human-Robot Interaction The biggest change in robotics over the past 25 years has been the nature of human-robot interaction. In the past, robots were big, dumb, and dangerous. Humans and robots had to be physically separated by cages, pressure-sensitive mats, light curtains, and emergency stop switches.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Human-Robot Interaction Today robots are designed to work closely with people in the same space

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Human-Robot Interaction Applications include: Assistive robots for the elderly Rehabilitation robots Exercise trainer robots Robot servants in the home Military robots

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Gretzky – The First Air Hockey Playing Robot Coordinated Science Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Human-Robot Interaction

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science The Results 1.Spong, M.W. and Bishop, B.E., “Development of a Three Degree of Freedom Air Hockey Playing Robot,” IEEE Intl Conference on Robotics and Automation, Video Proceedings, Segment 19, Leuven, Belgium, May [recipient of the conference best video award] Recall that this is 1990’s technology. In particular, computation and computer vision have made significant improvements thanks, in large part, to Moore’s Law.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Human-Robot Interaction Brain-Computer Interface Technology is also being developed for Control of Prosthetics Control of Assistive Devices Control of Robots, Airplanes and Automobiles Gaming UT-Dallas/ CINVESTAV project on BCI for assistive devices

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Telepresence From the Greek root tele – from afar: Television Telecommuting Teleconferencing Teleoperation Telepresence

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Teleoperation Teleoperation refers to controlling robots at a distance and was one of the first applications of robotics. The problem of semi-autonomous teleoperation combines networking, human-robot interaction, and telepresence.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Teleoperation of a Robot Formation LARS – The Laboratory for Autonomous and Robotic Systems The University of Texas at Dallas

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Telepresence In the future,Telerobots such as this will be your personal Avatar. Instead of traveling to that conference in Detroit, you will log into AvatarsRUs.com and attend the conference without leaving home. They will be widely distributed around the world and ready for hire.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Telepresence This will be a disruptive technology impacting transportation, hotels, restaurants and entertainment industries. It will also greatly increase productivity. People can attend more conferences and meetings without having to travel.

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Telepresence

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Summary Robots will soon be inexpensive and widely available networked together, remotely accessible, and remotely controllable working with people, extending the capabilities of people, entertaining people working in hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, shops and private homes monitoring our health, our environment, our infrastructure, our security

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Research Needs Object Recognition Manual Dexterity including Haptics Improved Brain Interfaces Natural Language and Gesture Interfaces Social Understanding Cyber Security and Privacy Awareness Modeling and Control Algorithm Development Formal Methods of Verification

create your futurewww.utdallas.edu Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science Thank You! Questions?