Learning to drive and simulate autonomous mobile robots

Abstract

We show how to apply learning methods to two robotics problems, namely the optimization of the on-board controller of an omnidirectional robot, and the derivation of a model of the physical driving behavior for use in a simulator. We show that optimal control parameters for several PID controllers can be learned adaptively by driving an omni directional robot on a field while evaluating its behavior, using an reinforcement learning algorithm. After training, the robots can follow the desired path faster and more elegantly than with manually adjusted parameters. Secondly, we show how to learn the physical behavior of a robot. Our system learns to predict the position of the robots in the future according to their reactions to sent commands. We use the learned behavior in the simulation of the robots instead of adjusting the physical simulation model whenever the mechanics of the robot changes. The updated simulation reflects then the modified physics of the robot. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.