Society of Robots - Robot Forum

General Misc => Robot Videos => Topic started by: Admin on May 30, 2009, 09:35:45 PM

Title: new type of robot pathfinding
Post by: Admin on May 30, 2009, 09:35:45 PM
Why keep a map or bother with SLAM when your robot can just ask for directions?

http://brightcove.newscientist.com/services/player/bcpid2227271001?bctid=23014493001 (http://brightcove.newscientist.com/services/player/bcpid2227271001?bctid=23014493001)
Title: Re: new type of robot pathfinding
Post by: SeagullOne on June 05, 2009, 12:14:46 PM
Wow! That's pretty cool! Not only does asking for directions help the robot arrive at its destination, but the process is more life-like. People find their way all the time by asking directions. I wonder if it can record paths and destinations its told and add more destinations and courses to its logic. Maybe even discover better ways to get to destinations, like short cuts in the road by asking more and more people.

This might be fun to try for my robot NINA to help my project navigate around the house...

I especially like the idea of robots interacting with humans "more naturally." Who doesn't want to be able to talk to robots?
Title: Re: new type of robot pathfinding
Post by: ddemarco5 on June 05, 2009, 06:15:37 PM
Heh, really neat idea.

I wish I could have seen it in the early stages of testing, asking mailboxes for directions. lol.
Title: Re: new type of robot pathfinding
Post by: SciTech02 on June 17, 2009, 06:41:01 PM
That is a pretty novel pathfinding method.  Altough it seems to be more useful as a human-robot interaction test than as an actual "efficient" pathfinding method.

I wonder how it handles false and/or contradictory directions?  It seems that this would be fairly common, depending on its destination.  This can lead to some very interesting human interactions...