AHCI RESEARCH GROUP
Publications
Papers published in international journals,
proceedings of conferences, workshops and books.
OUR RESEARCH
Scientific Publications
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You can expand the Abstract, Links and BibTex record for each paper.
2020
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Gaglio, Salvatore; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
An Artificial Soft Somatosensory System for a Cognitive Robot Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings - 4th IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2020, pp. 319–326, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2020, ISBN: 978-1-72815-237-0.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cognitive Architectures, Reinforcement Learning, Robotics, Social Robots, Somatosensory Systems
@inproceedings{augelloArtificialSoftSomatosensory2020,
title = {An Artificial Soft Somatosensory System for a Cognitive Robot},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Salvatore Gaglio and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.1109/IRC.2020.00058},
isbn = {978-1-72815-237-0},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings - 4th IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2020},
pages = {319--326},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {The paper proposes an artificial somatosensory system loosely inspired by human beings' biology and embedded in a cognitive architecture (CA). It enables a robot to receive the stimulation from its embodiment, and use these sensations, we called roboceptions, to behave according to both the external environment and the internal robot status. In such a way, the robot is aware of its body and able to interpret physical sensations can be more effective in the task while maintaining its well being. The robot's physiological urges are tightly bound to the specific physical state of the robot. Positive and negative physical information can, therefore, be processed and let the robot behave in a more realistic way adopting the right trade-off between the achievement of the task and the well-being of the robot. This goal has been achieved through a reinforcement learning approach. To test these statements we considered, as a test-bench, the execution of working performances with an SoftBank NAO robot that are modulated according its body well-being. textcopyright 2020 IEEE.},
keywords = {Cognitive Architectures, Reinforcement Learning, Robotics, Social Robots, Somatosensory Systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The paper proposes an artificial somatosensory system loosely inspired by human beings' biology and embedded in a cognitive architecture (CA). It enables a robot to receive the stimulation from its embodiment, and use these sensations, we called roboceptions, to behave according to both the external environment and the internal robot status. In such a way, the robot is aware of its body and able to interpret physical sensations can be more effective in the task while maintaining its well being. The robot's physiological urges are tightly bound to the specific physical state of the robot. Positive and negative physical information can, therefore, be processed and let the robot behave in a more realistic way adopting the right trade-off between the achievement of the task and the well-being of the robot. This goal has been achieved through a reinforcement learning approach. To test these statements we considered, as a test-bench, the execution of working performances with an SoftBank NAO robot that are modulated according its body well-being. textcopyright 2020 IEEE.
2018
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
Robot Inner Perception Capability through a Soft Somatosensory System Journal Article
In: International Journal of Semantic Computing, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 59–87, 2018, ISSN: 1793351X.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Model, Human Robot Interaction, Motivation, Sensor systems, Somatosensory Systems
@article{augelloRobotInnerPerception2018,
title = {Robot Inner Perception Capability through a Soft Somatosensory System},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.1142/S1793351X18400044},
issn = {1793351X},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
journal = {International Journal of Semantic Computing},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
pages = {59--87},
abstract = {The capability of a robot being aware of its internal status is a step forward to the enhancement of human-robot interaction. The possibility of feeling either pleasant or unpleasant sensations is at the basis of the motivation level of a robot. It can modulate the "willingness" of accomplishing a given task. Negative sensations can represent an alarm indicating dangerous situations, while the feeling of a reassuring environment or a well-being sensation can be a stimulus in pursuing the task, even in the presence of a painful perception. In this paper, we illustrate a bio-inspired somatosensory system embedded in a cognitive model for a humanoid robot. The system is based on a set of soft sensors that have been designed in order to make it possible for the interpretation of the robot physical sensations through a proper classification of the perceived somatosensory signals. This interpretation triggers and modulates the motivation level of the robot as well as its behavior. textcopyright 2018 World Scientific Publishing Company.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Cognitive Model, Human Robot Interaction, Motivation, Sensor systems, Somatosensory Systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
The capability of a robot being aware of its internal status is a step forward to the enhancement of human-robot interaction. The possibility of feeling either pleasant or unpleasant sensations is at the basis of the motivation level of a robot. It can modulate the "willingness" of accomplishing a given task. Negative sensations can represent an alarm indicating dangerous situations, while the feeling of a reassuring environment or a well-being sensation can be a stimulus in pursuing the task, even in the presence of a painful perception. In this paper, we illustrate a bio-inspired somatosensory system embedded in a cognitive model for a humanoid robot. The system is based on a set of soft sensors that have been designed in order to make it possible for the interpretation of the robot physical sensations through a proper classification of the perceived somatosensory signals. This interpretation triggers and modulates the motivation level of the robot as well as its behavior. textcopyright 2018 World Scientific Publishing Company.
Infantino, Ignazio; Augello, Agnese; Maniscalto, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
A Cognitive Architecture for Social Robots Proceedings Article
In: IEEE 4th International Forum on Research and Technologies for Society and Industry, RTSI 2018 - Proceedings, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2018, ISBN: 978-1-5386-6282-3.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Cognitive Architectures, Human Robot Interaction, Social Robots, Somatosensory Systems
@inproceedings{infantinoCognitiveArchitectureSocial2018,
title = {A Cognitive Architecture for Social Robots},
author = { Ignazio Infantino and Agnese Augello and Umberto Maniscalto and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.1109/RTSI.2018.8548520},
isbn = {978-1-5386-6282-3},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
booktitle = {IEEE 4th International Forum on Research and Technologies for Society and Industry, RTSI 2018 - Proceedings},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {The paper illustrates a software architecture allowing a robot to socially interact with human beings, sharing with them some basilar cognitive mechanisms. Robust sensing of the environment and people is strongly linked with an artificial somatosensory system that drives the robot behavior at a low level and influences its motivation. Both long-term memory and short-term memory store relevant data to detect and recognize the social context (and social practice), and the human social behavior. Using both internal and external evaluations, the robot learns and improves its social skills, which take into account its physiological and emotional demands (affiliation, competence, certainty). Social interaction is encoded in the cognitive architecture by considering at the same level the human understanding and the robot communicative actions. This is done by using the same interaction channels (both verbal and nonverbal). Some examples derived from previous works show the effectiveness and the potential of the cognitive architecture. textcopyright 2018 IEEE.},
keywords = {Cognitive Architectures, Human Robot Interaction, Social Robots, Somatosensory Systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The paper illustrates a software architecture allowing a robot to socially interact with human beings, sharing with them some basilar cognitive mechanisms. Robust sensing of the environment and people is strongly linked with an artificial somatosensory system that drives the robot behavior at a low level and influences its motivation. Both long-term memory and short-term memory store relevant data to detect and recognize the social context (and social practice), and the human social behavior. Using both internal and external evaluations, the robot learns and improves its social skills, which take into account its physiological and emotional demands (affiliation, competence, certainty). Social interaction is encoded in the cognitive architecture by considering at the same level the human understanding and the robot communicative actions. This is done by using the same interaction channels (both verbal and nonverbal). Some examples derived from previous works show the effectiveness and the potential of the cognitive architecture. textcopyright 2018 IEEE.
2017
Augello, Agnese; Infantino, Ignazio; Maniscalco, Umberto; Pilato, Giovanni; Vella, Filippo
The Effects of Soft Somatosensory System on the Execution of Robotic Tasks Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings - 2017 1st IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2017, pp. 14–21, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2017, ISBN: 978-1-5090-6723-7.
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Robotics, Sensor systems, Somatosensory Systems
@inproceedings{augelloEffectsSoftSomatosensory2017,
title = {The Effects of Soft Somatosensory System on the Execution of Robotic Tasks},
author = { Agnese Augello and Ignazio Infantino and Umberto Maniscalco and Giovanni Pilato and Filippo Vella},
doi = {10.1109/IRC.2017.57},
isbn = {978-1-5090-6723-7},
year = {2017},
date = {2017-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings - 2017 1st IEEE International Conference on Robotic Computing, IRC 2017},
pages = {14--21},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {Nowadays there is a growing interest in the design and implementation of robots capable of exhibiting sophisticated behaviours, taking part in social interactions, expressing and manifesting their 'feelings'. These kinds of robots can be employed as human-like collaborators or companions. At the heart of this sophisticated behaviour, there should be the robot's ability of effectively being aware of its internal status. The feeling of pleasant or unpleasant sensations comes before higher-level mechanisms that determine a robot's emotions and motivations in the accomplishment of a task. Furthermore, negative sensations can represent an alarm indicating dangerous situations. In this work, we have modelled a bio-inspired somatosensory system embedded in a cognitive model for a humanoid robot. The system has been designed by analysing the internal physical structure of the robot and it relies on different soft sensors built on top of the robot's physical sensors. The soft sensors allow the robot to interpret its body sensations using a suitable classification of the somatosensory signals. They influence the motivation of the robot, modulating its final behaviour, as shown in an experimental setup. textcopyright 2017 IEEE.},
keywords = {Anthropomorphic Robots, Cognitive Architectures, Robotics, Sensor systems, Somatosensory Systems},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Nowadays there is a growing interest in the design and implementation of robots capable of exhibiting sophisticated behaviours, taking part in social interactions, expressing and manifesting their 'feelings'. These kinds of robots can be employed as human-like collaborators or companions. At the heart of this sophisticated behaviour, there should be the robot's ability of effectively being aware of its internal status. The feeling of pleasant or unpleasant sensations comes before higher-level mechanisms that determine a robot's emotions and motivations in the accomplishment of a task. Furthermore, negative sensations can represent an alarm indicating dangerous situations. In this work, we have modelled a bio-inspired somatosensory system embedded in a cognitive model for a humanoid robot. The system has been designed by analysing the internal physical structure of the robot and it relies on different soft sensors built on top of the robot's physical sensors. The soft sensors allow the robot to interpret its body sensations using a suitable classification of the somatosensory signals. They influence the motivation of the robot, modulating its final behaviour, as shown in an experimental setup. textcopyright 2017 IEEE.