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We discuss the integration of the SANDROS path planner into a general robot simulation and control package with the inclusion of a fast geometry engine for distance calculations. This creates a single system that allows the path to be computed, simulated, and then executed on the physical robot. The architecture and usage procedures are presented. Also, we present examples of its usage in typical environments found in our organization. The resulting system is as easy to use as the general simulation system (which is in common use here) and is fast enough (example problems are solved in seconds) to be used interactively on an everyday basis.

We describe a learning user interface (LUI) for robot task planning and programming. A robot operator interacts with LUI with commands in a natural-language-like form, and teaches LUI new commands necessary to perform assigned tasks using the programming by demonstration paradigm. LUI has a basic set of commands for moving a robot. When a new form of a command is given along with a demonstration of how to execute the command in terms of a sequence of known commands, LUI abstracts and stores the demonstration sequence. The abstraction involves qualitative reasoning about spatial relationships of the robot and objects involved during the demonstration. LUI allows robot operators to teach and subsequently issue high-level, natural-language-like motion commands rather than precise numeric commands involving coordinate specifications. This capability can speed up robotic operations in many applications in which similar tasks must be carried out repetitively.

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