Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

Robotics is an interdisciplinary research field leveraging on control the- ory, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering and computer science. It aims at designing machines able to perceive, move around and interact with their envi- ronment in order to perform useful tasks. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science, overlapping with, but significantly distinct from robotics. Its pur- pose includes the development of computational models of intelligence, as well as the design and experiment with systems which implement these models. There is a significant convergence between Robotics and AI. Their intersection is critical for both areas. Robots implement a “perception - decision - action” loop. The decision making part is central in that loop for tackling variable environments and tasks. On the other hand, AI is broadening an initial focus on abstract tasks, as in mathematics and board games, to addressing embodied intelligence. This chapter covers some of the research topics and approaches in the intersection of robotics and AI. It surveys the state of the art in key issues such as planning and acting deliberately on the basis of tasks and world models, learning these models, and organizing the sensory-motor and cognitive functions of a robot into resilient and scalable architectures. 1