Robot Autonomy

Autonomous and Intelligent Robots

Student: Sergio Jácobo

Systems Engineering and Automation Department,
     Carlos III University, Madrid

sergioaugustoantenor.jacobo@alumnos.uc3m.es

Oct. 8 2024

Key ideas

One, two, three … again

Where should I go?

Is there any life waiting to be discovered?

What does autonomy mean in robotics?

A draft meaning

• Following a black line along a path
• Palletizing shipping boxes in a factory
• Cleaning floors by convering the entire house
• Exploring the surface of an unknown planet

The ability to perform specific tasks without “human intervention” in a known working environment.

A draw of a robot generated with AI in Freepik

Should a robot be autonomous?

Yes, of course !!!

Why?

• Minimize workload and maximize productivity.
• Perform continuous tasks even without constant human supervision or communication.

ASIMO (2000) at the Expo 2005 from Wikipedia

Should a robot be autonomous?

Yes, of course !!!

Why?

How?

• Ability to make decisions based on sensor data.
• Interact with the environment through manipulation or communication.

ASIMO (2000) at the Expo 2005 from Wikipedia

What robots exist today?

State of the art

1.  A line follower,
2.  Google’s self-driving car
3.  Curiosity rover
4.  Care-O-bot 4
5.  Santuary
6.  Industrial robots
7.  Sophia - Hanson robotics

Commercial robots today

Effects of high-level autonomy on society

• Social
  • Changes in human-robot interaction, particularly in customer service.
• Politics
  • Regulation and governance. Preventing tech. from being misused.
• Education
  • Change in required professional skills.
• Industry
  • Increase in efficiency and productivity.
• Ethics
  • Moral responsibility. Decisions without human intervention?

• Slides based on emitanaka.org/slides/Ihaka2022/
• Created with Quarto
• sergioaugustoantenor.jacobo@alumnos.uc3m.es