Group 3

Getting a robot to tie a shoe

We study in this report , what seems to be a simple task of tying a shoelace. In part A + B we break this process into smaller functions so they could be programmed into a robot with fingers and cameras. As it turns out, in part C, it is extremely difficult to express what goes on in the mind in form of language we use to speak. Most of our action result from thoughts which are implicit in terms of discrete actions. In D we compare connectionist model with symbolic considering that we have already expressed basic functions in A + B. In F we explore various situations such as  tension in string, length which has crossed fingers, light, stability of ground, density of sensors in fingers(if we are wearing gloves this effectively reduces).In part G we find out that seemingly easy process of tying the shoes is a million dimensional problem when considered in its raw form. This clarifies clear limitations of our language in expressing our thoughts. After breaking it into smaller basic functions from B, dimensionality reduces. These basic functions are created as a result of practice. Then in I we propose a symbolic and connectionist model to express this process or any physical process in general.

Videos:

Link to video of the robot performing Part 1 (first knot) of the process (with step-wise instructions): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi-6bCYpGYM

Link to video of the robot performing Part 2 (full bow knot) of the process (with step-wise instructions): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6eGFups1DA

Answers:

PPT: SE367.pptx