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SYMBIKBOT: Robot-Assisted Hastily Formed Knowledge Networks

The field of Disaster Informatics studies the use of information technology in the preparation, mitigation, response and recovery phases of disasters or crises. The SSF-funded SymbiKBot project should be viewed in this context, but by adding artificial intelligence technologies to the mix.

The project focuses on the development of knowledge-enhanced robots and software agents that collaborate together with humans in teams in disaster or crisis situations. The term ”Hastily Formed Networks” (HFNs) was coined to describe the impromptu networks that are created to provide crisis communications. This project broadens the idea by not only focusing on crisis communications, but also knowledge ac- quisition and use in the form of ”Hastily Formed Knowledge Networks” (HFKNs). These knowledge networks may be viewed as distributed information structures with coupling to cloud technologies that provide both local and common global situation awareness that is dynamically generated and leveraged by both robots, software agents and humans in emer- gency rescue tasks.

The project includes research in visualization and interfacing technogies in the context of HMI in addition to the development of image processing techniques for activity recognition and tracking used with unmanned aerial vehicles. Additionally, on-line machine learning techniques are developed for human aware UAV behaviors as these robots symbiotically interact with humans.

 


Page responsible: Patrick Doherty
Last updated: 2020-06-11