By Michelle Fredrickson, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
PULLMAN, Wash. – With the help of a flying robot and an obstacle course, student researchers are aiming to gain understanding of how humans might begin teaching robots.
Led by Allred Distinguished Professor in Artificial Intelligence Matthew Taylor, the director of the Intelligent Robot Learning lab, the student researchers in the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program will host an exploratory experiment next week in which volunteers are asked to fly a robot through an obstacle course. The goal is to observe how people interacted with the robot and the interface.
“No one’s really looked at what makes a human a good teacher for a robot,” Taylor said.
Understanding how we interact with robots is becoming increasingly important as robotics become more integrated into everyday life. The Roomba vacuum cleaner is the most known and popular commercial robot, but the field is growing incredibly rapidly, said Maddie Chili, a computer science and graphic design student from Elon University who is visiting WSU for the summer with the (REU) program.
In the experiment, participants will be given instructions, taught how to fly the robot, and allowed to practice before attempting the obstacle course.
Participants will fly the robot through the obstacle course a few times to see if they are learning, and their results will be recorded for the study, said Mitchell Scott, a senior mechanical engineering student at WSU who is working on the project.
For Taylor, this project is part of a long history in studying the ways to teach a robot. He received national attention last year for his study showing computers could teach each other tasks, like to play PacMan and a version of StarCraft – taking humans out of the teaching equation.
That research was a step towards computers teaching humans, while the obstacle course project will examine the other side: humans teaching robots.
Anyone 18 or older can volunteer for the obstacle course research, and it will take 10-15 minutes. There will be snacks provided, and participants will also be entered to win Amazon gift cards. The research will begin on June 29 and will work around participants’ schedules.
For more information and to sign up to participate, email wsudrone@gmail.com.
Contact:
Tina Hilding, WSU Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture communications, 509-335-5095, thilding@wsu.edu