Broad Area Colloquium For AI-Geometry-Graphics-Robotics-Vision
(CS 528)

Motion Planning for Dynamic Systems

James Kuffner, Jr., Carnegie Mellon University
May 16 , 2005, 4:15PM
TCSeq 201
http://graphics.stanford.edu/ba-colloquium/

Abstract

Humanoid robots and unmanned aerial vehicles are examples of complex dynamic systems whose technology has evolved rapidly during the past decade. Presently, several companies are developing commercial prototype humanoid robots. In order to improve the autonomy and overall functionality of these robots, reliable sensors, safety mechanisms, and general integrated software tools and techniques are needed. The development of practical motion planning algorithms and obstacle avoidance capabilities for these dynamic systems represents one important enabling technology.

I will describe several motion generation methods for humanoid robots designed for application tasks involving navigation, object grasping and manipulation, footstep placement, and full-body motions. Experimental results obtained by implementations running within a simulation environment as well as on actual humanoid robot hardware will be shown. I will also present crossover applications of motion planning in computer graphics, animation, and virtual reality. Finally, I will show preliminary work on planning trajectories for autonomous aircraft which I am currently working to apply to CMU's autonomous helicopter project.

About the Speaker

James Kuffner is a Research Scientist at the Robotics Institute, Computer Science Dept., Carnegie Mellon University. He received a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University in 1993 and 1995, and a Ph.D. from the Stanford University Dept. of Computer Science Robotics Laboratory in 1999. He was a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Tokyo from 1999 to 2001. He joined the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in May 2002. His research interests include robotics, motion planning, and computer graphics and animation.

Contact: bac-coordinators@cs.stanford.edu

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