Situated robot learning for multi-modal instruction and imitation of grasping

A key prerequisite to make user instruction of work tasks by interactive demonstration effective and convenient is situated multi-modal interaction aiming at an enhancement of robot learning beyond simple low-level skill acquisition. We report the status of the Bielefeld GRAVIS-robot system that combines visual attention and gestural instruction with an intelligent interface for speech recognition and linguistic interpretation to allow multi-modal task-oriented instructions. With respect to this platform, we discuss the essential role of learning for robust functioning of the robot and sketch the concept of an integrated architecture for situated learning on the system level. It has the long-term goal to demonstrate speech-supported imitation learning of robot actions. We describe the current state of its realization to enable imitation of human hand postures for flexible grasping and give quantitative results for grasping a broad range of everyday objects. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.