An Innovative Human-Robot Cognitive Coupling in Industrial Robot Control and Manufacturing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel human-robot cognitive coupling framework enabling robots to interpret operational data, learn from past experiences, and adapt through reinforcement learning, enhancing autonomous decision-making in industrial settings.

Contribution

It presents a new tool-centric knowledge base with learning capabilities and a method for integrating operator cognition into robot learning processes.

Findings

The system can recall and compare past off-nominal events.

The knowledge base supports reinforcement learning at multiple levels.

The approach improves robot autonomy and adaptability.

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the groundwork for the structure and nature of Human-Robot Cognitive Coupling.The human mind is best at associating objects, while digital devices can only compare. Successful communication between robot and human agents involves translating human thought into unique numbers that can be compared, and translating these numbers back into a form that humans can understand. A cognitive robot is one capable of interpreting its own operational data. Working from a D&D project standpoint with a telerobot, a system is designed to utilize sensor data, extract usable profiles and information from them, and then apply them as a means of self-testing for nominal/off-nominal operations. If operations are considered off-nominal, the telerobot begins a sequence of recalling and comparing previous off-nominal occurrences to determine potential corrections. In this manner, a telerobot can apply previous 'experiences' in order to learn without the need for operator input. In the cognitive telerobotics, knowledge base is an important component to store required information. In this paper, a tool-centric knowledge base with learning capability is presented. In this paper, the knowledge can be updated based on the reinforcement learning algorithm at both global and local levels and knowledge fusion by coupling with operator's cognition.