The Robotics Institute

RI | Centers | CFR | Seminar

Foundations of Robotics Seminar, April 21, 2011
Time and Place | Seminar Abstract



Goal. Set. CHOMP!

Anca Dragan
Robotics Institute

Carnegie Mellon University

 

Time and Place

Thursday, April 21, 2011
NSH 3305
Talk 12:00 pm

Abstract

 

My work focuses on robots performing manipulation tasks in unstructured human environments, with or around humans. Such robots need to move naturally and predictably, calling for motion planners that optimize such criteria. While trajectory optimizers like CHOMP (Covariant Hamiltonian Optimization for Motion Planning) have proven effective for some high-dimensional motion planning problems, finding feasible and optimal solutions remains hard in a lot of cases. In this talk, I will present a way of improving trajectory optimization by taking advantage of affordances in the manipulation problem, such as the existence of entire regions of allowable goals. If time allows, I will illustrate how these affordances can be used not only to improve the optimization process itself, but also to initialize the optimizer with better starting points.

 

Bio

 

Anca Dragan is a second year PhD candidate in the Robotics Institute, advised by Siddhartha Srinivasa and Chris Atkeson. She was born in Romania and received her Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany. She is interested in learning from experience and demonstration, and how they apply to manipulation in human environments.

 


The Robotics Institute is part of the School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University.