stupid little robots

dpa · 2006-09-02T16:59:20+00:00

Howdy,Following on from the behavior based robotics discussion,it seems clear why a researcher into artificial intelligencemight view robotics as a distraction, even irrelevant. Ifthe main topic of interest is AI, then robotics is certainlya minor player.However, for those of us who are interested in robotics as afield unto itself, AI is a natural component of robotics.That is, that robot designers/builders need some sort ofguidance on how to organize and order their software basedon the robots we are building now, not hypothetical robotsof the future with human-like intelligence and the abilityto learn.of AI has made available to robot builders is the subsumptionarchitecture, or so-called "behavior based robotics," in allits many variations and dialects.There seems to be an emerging consenus on this list that thisapproach has "stalled," evidently because of the paucity ofnew papers being published on the subject. My experience isthat this is not so, but that may be because, like everyoneelse, I use a modified, even bastardized, concept of BBR,for which I do no see any particular plateau approaching.We've heard a lot of statements like "the BBR approach cannotsolve complex problem sets" with no actual experience orproof to back it up. Like the fellow who wanted to closethe patent office in the 1800s because "everything hadalready been invented." At least everything he couldthink of. My experience is otherwise.Perhaps this perceived plateau is actually among the theoristsand their debating societies, and not among actual robot buildersand their creations? That seems to ring more true.bestdpa