Patent Document

BACKGROUND 
     Machine controllers used in robotics, manufacturing, aerospace, industrial machinery, and other industries are typically programmed to perform a specific set of predefined movements or actions. This may be time-consuming and resource-intensive. For example, programming a robot to perform a single repetitive task may require all robot components to be fixtured. Once programmed, the robot may be unable to adapt, compensate for changes, or adjust to a new operating environment. Changes in robot function typically require reprogramming, verification, validation, and other processes to ensure proper operation. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide for learning by demonstration—a robot controller learns by duplicating demonstrated actions through trial and error. Mastery of the task allows the robot controller to execute similar, but different tasks. In addition, results of the learning are persistent, and the robot is able to compensate for the effects of aging, wear, and changing environmental conditions. Not only is pre-teaching of the robot unnecessary, but it is also unnecessary to explicitly formalize low-level commands involved in the execution of the task. 
     A procedural memory controller is trained during the normal operation of the robot by observing and correlating disturbances with desired outcomes. Once the correlations, sequences and adequate combinations have been found, this controller replaces the high-level control mechanisms. Embodiments of the present invention utilize existing declarative memory model controllers (e.g., path planning, forward kinematics and inverse kinematics) in conjunction with a procedural memory controller, which acts as an error compensator to modulate the timing and actuation of robot end effectors. A declarative memory controller may be programmed to perform sequences of tasks. 
     According to embodiments of the present invention, multiple input signals (non-limiting examples of which include: sensor outputs, actuator inputs, attributes, positions, and other relevant measurable variables of a robotic procedure) are monitored during semi-supervised learning demonstrations. In certain embodiments, these signals are also differentiated and integrated to provide recursive extensions. Similarity matrices are then developed to summarize how the variables behave with respect to one another, and these matrices are used as inputs to a learning algorithm. Specific examples utilize correlation, cross-correlation, rank correlation, product-of-moments correlations, distance correlation, and other measures of relation. Although linear relationships are typically faster to analyze, non-linear relationships may also be used. 
     Sensors include devices internal to the robot (non-limiting examples of which include: strain gauges; accelerometers; position detectors; electrical power sensors, such as RMS current and voltage meters; and component performance evaluators, such as vibration detectors and settling time measurement) as well as devices external to the robot (non-limiting examples of which include video cameras and proximity detectors). Actuators are typically bi-state devices, non-limiting examples of which include on/off switches and open/close grippers). 
     In semi-supervised sequence learning according to embodiments of the present invention, the system is instructed to use the values in the matrices as a goal for the subject procedure. The more closely the robot&#39;s output values correlate with those of the matrices, the better the robot is carrying out the subject procedure. By seeking to optimize the correlation between robot output and the goal matrices, the controller learns how best to carry out the procedure. In examples of the invention, the learning process goes on, so that the controller continually compensates for changes over time in the operating environment and condition of the robot. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification. Embodiments of the present invention, both as to organization and method of operation, together with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following detailed description, when read with the accompanying drawings illustrating the embodiments, in which: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates elements of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates elements of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates elements of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
     
    
    
     It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggerated relative to other elements for clarity. Further, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. It will however be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention. 
     Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the specification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “storing,” “determining,” “evaluating,” “calculating,” “measuring,” “providing,” “transferring,” or the like, refer to the action and/or processes of a computer or computing system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and/or transforms data represented as physical, such as electronic, quantities within the computing system&#39;s registers and/or memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computing system&#39;s memories, registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a learning/control system  101  according to examples of the present invention. System  101  contains a central processing unit  103 , a data storage unit  105 , and a memory unit  107 , which includes an active database  109 . A signal interface  111  is capable of receiving signals from a robot  123  via a controller  125  which contains an artificial neural network. A correlator  113  is capable of correlating two or more signals and producing a correlation output, non-limiting examples of which include: cross-correlation, rank correlation, product-of-moments correlations, and distance correlation. A differentiator  115  is capable of outputting a time-derivative of a signal, including higher-order derivatives; and an integrator  117  is capable of outputting a time integral of a signal. Outputs of differentiator  115  and integrator  117  can be input into correlator  113  under control of processing unit  103 . A matrix unit  119  is capable of generating similarity matrices containing values output by correlator  113 , and for sending matrices to the artificial neural network (ANN) via controller  125 . In examples of the invention, matrices generated by matrix unit  119  are stored in data storage unit  105 . A low-level control interface  121  sends direct control commands to robot  123  via controller  125 . This can be done via a human-robot interface  127 , in which a human operator directly controls robot  123  via controller  125  using hand controls, such as a joystick or similar device; alternatively, control commands to robot  123  can be generated by software running on system  101  via a command interface  129  to controller  125 . In embodiments of the invention, a “command” is an instruction which can be interpreted by the robot controller at a low level. Commands can be expressed in a formal language context, such as “Go to &lt;X, Y, Z&gt;”, where &lt;X, Y, Z&gt; represents a point in a coordinate which the robot controller is programmed to recognize. An aggregator  131  combines command signals from the ANN according to a kinematics model of robot  123  and sends the resulting modulated control signals to robot  123  via control interface  125 . 
     As discussed below, direct control of robot  123  (either via human-robot interface  127  or by programmatic control) provides robot  123  with a demonstration of the action which is to be learned. A benefit of programmatic control is that the demonstrated action may be repeated exactly, and may be repeated a large number of times. In embodiments of the invention, the number of repetitions of the action is denoted as N. 
     In general, the signals and commands associated with robot  123  are varying quantities—they are functions of time and/or frequency, or other parameters. 
     According to embodiments of the invention, multiple signals are received from robot  123  and compared with one another to obtain a measure of similarity.  FIG. 2  illustrates comparison of two signals according to an embodiment. A first signal  201 , denoted as S1, is shown as a plot according to an amplitude axis  203  with respect to a time axis  205 ; and a second signal  207 , denoted as S2, is shown as a plot according to an amplitude axis  209  with respect to a time axis  211 . S1 signal  201  and S2 signal  207  are two signals for illustration, taken from a sample set  219  containing N samples each of K different signals. A sliding window  215 , sliding in a direction  217 , samples both signals and feeds the samples into a similarity analysis unit  221 . In one example, similarity analysis unit  221  analyzes the similarity of S1 signal  201  and S2 signal  207  by evaluating functions of similarity between them. In a non-limiting example, similarity analysis unit  221  performs a magnitude-phase cross-correlation of S1 signal  201  and S2 signal  207 . The correlated values are then placed in the appropriate entries to thereby compute a K×K similarity matrix  223 . In general, the correlation values are complex numbers, representing correlations both in magnitude and in phase. In certain embodiments similarity matrix  223  is represented as two separate matrices, one containing the real part of the correlation, and the other containing the imaginary part. In some embodiments, the elements of similarity matrix  223  are values which are functions of the correlations; non-limiting examples of such functions include normalization functions, weighing functions, and so forth. It is not necessary to perform an explicit averaging operation when the action is repeated N times to yield N samples; the correlation itself takes the repetition into account. 
     Similarity matrix  223  is a function of time, and therefore many instances of matrix  223  are stored in memory, in order to approximate the time-varying functions. In a non-limiting example, a ten-second action that is broken down into snapshots every 0.1 second has 100 instances of matrix  223  stored in memory or a database entry. A similarity matrix M(t) can be translated in time by T 0  seconds simply by applying an offset to obtain M(t+T 0 ). Thus, having a similarity matrix for a particular action automatically provides a similarity matrix for the same action delayed in time. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates an extension of elements of  FIG. 2 , described above. An N×K input array  301  contains N samples each of K different signals. Non-limiting examples of signals include: a first sensor input  303 , a second sensor input  305 , . . . ; a first actuator input  307 , a second actuator input  309 , . . . ; a first attribute input  311 , a second attribute input  313 , . . . ; a first position input  315 , a second position input  317 , . . . ; and finishing with a Kth input  319 . 
     Input array  301  is entered as a state input  325 , which constitutes N×K elements of an L×N×K extended input array  321 . In the non-limiting example of  FIG. 3 , L=4, but other values of L are also possible. 
     In the non-limiting example of  FIG. 3 , each element of input array  301  is time-integrated to produce an additional N×K elements for an integrated state input  323 . Each element of input array  301  is time-differentiated to produce an additional N×K elements for first derivative state input  327 . Each element of first derivative state input  327  is again time-differentiated to produce an additional N×K elements for second derivative state input  329 . In other examples, other higher-order moments are used. In the example of  FIG. 3 , the second derivative of a position sensor yields an acceleration value. In another example (not illustrated), the double integral of an acceleration sensor yields a position offset. When a second derivative, a first derivative, the state, an integral, and a double integral are used, L=5. 
     The elements of extended input array  321  (which are each varying quantities) are correlated to produce a (4×K)×(4×K)=16×K 2  square extended similarity matrix  331  (using the value L=4, as illustrated in the non-limiting example of  FIG. 3 ). In general, element i,j of extended similarity matrix  331  is the correlation of signal S i  with signal S j . 
     Extended similarity matrix  331  characterizes the motion of the robot during the performance of a task—not only individual aspects of the motion, but also the way each aspect relates to every other aspect. 
     In addition to Amplitude-Time Domain analysis of signals as described for the examples above, other examples use Amplitude-Frequency Domain analysis (Fourier Transform), Frequency-Time analysis (Short-Time Fourier Transform, or STFT), and Time-Wavelet (“Multi-Resolution”) analysis. 
     Other or different series of operations may also be used. 
       FIG. 4 . illustrates elements of a method according to a non-limiting example, as follows: A kinematics model  400  for robot  123  includes modeling elements for: link components  401 ,  405 ,  409 ,  413 ,  417 ,  421 , and  425 ; joints  403 ,  407 ,  411 ,  415 ,  419 , and  423 ; and a gripper  427 . Positions and orientations are measured relative to a coordinate system  429 . 
     An extended similarity matrix  451  for a “move left” action is input to an artificial neural network (“ANN”)  457  along with control commands  452  for the “move left” action. ANN  457  thus learns to associate similarity matrix  451  with “move left” action control commands  452 . An extended similarity matrix  453  for a “move up in 5 seconds” action is also input to ANN  457  along with control commands  454  for the “move up in 5 seconds” action. ANN  457  thus also learns to associate similarity matrix  453  with “move up in 5 seconds” action control commands  454 . When presented with extended similarity matrices  451  and  453  ANN  457  outputs control signals for controlling robot  123  to perform the combined actions “move left” and “move up in 5 seconds”. 
     According to certain embodiments of the invention, each action group has its own similarity matrix, and in this non-limiting example, an extended similarity matrix  455  for a “close gripper” operation is also input to an artificial neural network  459  along with control commands  456  for the “close gripper” operation. ANN  459  thus learns to associate similarity matrix  455  with “close gripper” operation control commands  456 . In this example, the “close gripper” action is included in a different action group from the “move left” and the “move up in 5 seconds”, because the “move” actions involve continuous positioning motion with position sensing, whereas the “close” action involves a binary condition (open or closed) with force sensing. 
     For a “close gripper, then move left, then move up in 5 seconds” task, the above-described outputs are combined in an aggregator  461  to produce a modulated control signal  463  to robot  123 , according to a kinematics model  400 . In certain embodiments of the invention where the control signals output from ANN  457  and  459  are linear, aggregator  461  aggregates the control signals by performing a summation. In embodiments of the invention, an arbitrary number of different action groups can be aggregated together to perform a specific task. 
     In “semi-supervised learning”, supervised learning is needed only when initializing the system and in making changes, corrections, and performing periodic maintenance. In an embodiment of the invention, maintenance retraining is performed every 100 cycles. In between supervised learning sessions, the system is capable of unsupervised operation without modification to the control loop. 
     Kinematics models are typically used in robotics to relate end-effector position to joint parameters (forward kinematics models) and joint parameters to the position of the end-effector (inverse kinematics models). Kinematics models typically involve sets of joint constraints, so input of kinematics model  400  into aggregator  461  assures that modulated control signal  463  will observe the constraints of robot  123 . 
     The combination functions as a control loop for robot  400 . The process is repeated, measuring the parameters, attributes, and signals necessary for recalculating extended similarity matrices  451 ,  453 , and  455 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a flowchart of a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In a step  501  an action is demonstrated to a robot with a direct command  503 . In a step  505  a similarity matrix  507  is computed, and in a step  509  direct command  503  and similarity matrix  507  are input to an artificial neural network (ANN) to obtain a signal  511 . In a step  513 , signal  511  is aggregated according to a kinematics model  515  of the robot, to output a modulated control signal  517  to control the robot to perform the action. 
     Embodiments of the present invention may include apparatuses for performing the operations described herein. Such apparatuses may be specially constructed for the desired purposes, or may comprise computers or processors selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computers. Such computer programs may be stored in a computer-readable or processor-readable non-transitory storage medium, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) electrically programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable and programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of non-transient tangible media suitable for storing electronic instructions. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the invention as described herein. Embodiments of the invention may include an article such as a computer or processor readable non-transitory storage medium, such as for example a memory, a disk drive, or a USB flash memory encoding, including or storing instructions, e.g., computer-executable instructions, which when executed by a processor or controller, cause the processor or controller to carry out methods disclosed herein. The instructions may cause the processor or controller to execute processes that carry out methods disclosed herein. 
     Different embodiments are disclosed herein. Features of certain embodiments may be combined with features of other embodiments; thus, certain embodiments may be combinations of features of multiple embodiments. The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. It should be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that many modifications, variations, substitutions, changes, and equivalents are possible in light of the above teaching. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the invention.

Technology Category: g