Architecture for robot intelligence

• US 20050149227A1
• Filed: 12/31/2003
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vanderbilt University
• Original Assignee: Vanderbilt University
• Inventors: Peters, Richard Alan II
• Granted Patent: US 7,328,196 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/245
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/161 Hardware, e.g. neural networks, fuzzy logic, interfaces, processor
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/163 learning, adaptive, model based, rule based expert control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39254 Behaviour controller, robot have feelings, learns behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 2201/02 Control of position of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 3/008 based on physical entities controlled by simulated intelligence so as to replicate intelligent life forms, e.g. based on robots replicating pets or humans in their appearance or behaviour

Abstract

An architecture for robot intelligence enables a robot to learn new behaviors and create new behavior sequences autonomously and interact with a dynamically changing environment. Sensory information is mapped onto a Sensory Ego-Sphere (SES) that rapidly identifies important changes in the environment and functions much like short term memory. Behaviors are stored in a DBAM that creates an active map from the robot'"'"'s current state to a goal state and functions much like long term memory. A dream state converts recent activities stored in the SES and creates or modifies behaviors in the DBAM.

Claims

1. An architecture for robot intelligence comprising:

a sensory database comprising at least one record, each record representing a direction from the robot and capable of storing a sensor signal;

a behavior database comprising a least one record, each record representing a behavior capable of being performed by the robot;

an attention agent for identifying a focus record in the sensory database; and

a behavior agent for selecting a behavior from the behavior database, the selection based, in part, on the focus record.

2. The architecture of claim 1 further comprising an sensory agent for storing the sensor signal into the sensory database record corresponding to the spatial direction of the sensor signal.

3. The architecture of claim 2 wherein the sensory agent stores a datum representing a time stamp associated with the sensory signal into the sensory database.

4. The architecture of claim 3 further comprising a coincidence agent for detecting temporal coincidence of a first sensor signal and a second sensor signal when the first sensor signal time stamp does not equal the second sensor time stamp.

5-19. -19. (canceled)

20. A method for providing short-term memory for an adaptive autonomous robot, the robot comprising at least one processor configured to execute at least one agent program, each of the at least one agent program configured to interact independently with other agent programs and at least one sensory processing unit associated with the at least one agent program, the method comprising:

creating a plurality of directions, each of the plurality of directions originating at the robot and having a set of nearest-neighbor directions defining a neighborhood associated with the each of the plurality of directions; and

associating an event detected by the at least one sensory processing unit with one of the plurality of directions.