Towards a science of integrated AI and Robotics

Abstract

The early promise of the impact of machine intelligence did not involve the partitioning of the nascent field of Artificial Intelligence. The founders of AI envisioned the notion of embedded intelligence as being conjoined between perception, reasoning and actuation. Yet over the years the fields of AI and Robotics drifted apart. Practitioners of AI focused on problems and algorithms abstracted from the real world. Roboticists, generally with a background in mechanical and electrical engineering, concentrated on sensorimotor functions. That divergence is slowly being bridged with the maturity of both fields and with the growing interest in autonomous systems. This special issue brings together the state of the art and practice of the emergent field of integrated AI and Robotics, and highlights the key areas along which this current evolution of machine intelligence is heading.

Service robot implementation: a theoretical framework and research agenda

“…Focused on the technological capacity to perform tasks, rather than physical skills or appearance, AI initially was envisioned as a way to combine perception, reasoning, and actuation. Over time though, AI development has focused more on algorithms (virtual), while robotics has addressed mechanical functioning (physical) (Rajan & Saffiotti, 2017). From a service management perspective, the value of AI stems not from its virtual or unrecognized use but rather on the technology's ability to engage with customers at a social level (Van Doorn et al, 2017).…”

“…For services, robotics and AI need to be integrated (Rajan & Saffiotti, 2017). The International Federation of Robotics (2016) defines service robots as those 'that perform useful tasks for humans or equipment excluding industrial automation applications.'…”

Digital Decision Support Systems for Enhanced Human Based Decision-Making at the Shop Floor Management Level

“…The prevalent academia understands the future depicted as an environment where systems and humans act intelligently together and everything are connected to the internet [10] with the aim to exploit data in a smarter way and develop strong ISs [5]. In a smart manufacturing environment humans witness new technological gears and systems based on digital technologies [5], big data tools [11] and artificial intelligence [12]. Strong connections combine smart manufacturing and digital technologies and both highlights the importance of big data and the use of data in a smarter way [6,7].…”

Artificial Intelligence for Long-Term Robot Autonomy: A Survey

“…Since autonomous systems research has a long history, special issues and surveys already exist that relate to LTA. For example, [3], [4] cover AI methods within integrated robot systems. In perception, existing collections cover localisation and mapping in dynamic environments [5], [6], calibration [7] and visual place recognition [8].…”