Actual papers available (Visual Search, Navigation, Topologic Maps)

[Uwe R. Zimmer, AG vP]

A couple of actual papers about:

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---     Learning, Robotics, Visual Search, Navigation,     ---
---        Topologic Maps & Robust Mobile Robots           ---
---                    Neural Networks                     ---
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are now available via FTP:

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--- Connectionist Decision Systems for a Visual Search Problem
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            ---   File name is : Zimmer.Visual_Search.ps.Z   ---

         IIZUKA `94, Fukuoka, Japan August 1-7, 1994, Invited paper

         Connectionist Decision Systems for a Visual Search Problem

                                Uwe R. Zimmer

Visual Search has been investigated by many researchers inspired by the
biological fact, that the sensory elements on the mammal retina are not equably
distributed. Therefore the focus of attention (the area of the retina with the
highest density of sensory elements) has to be directed in a way to efficiently
gather data according to certain criteria.
The work discussed in this article concentrates on applying a laser range finder
instead of a silicon retina. The laser range finder is maximal focused at any
time, but therefore a low-resolution total-scene-image, available with
camera-like devices from scratch on, cannot be used here. By adapting a couple
of algorithms, the edge-scanning module steering the laser range finder is able
to trace a detected edge. Based on the data scanned so far, two questions have
to be answered. First: "Should the actual (edge-) scanning be interrupted in
order to give another area of interest a chance of being investigated?" and
second: "Where to start a new edge-scanning, after being interrupted?".
These two decision-problems might be solved by a range of decision systems. The
correctness of the decisions depends widely on the actual environment and the
underlying rules may not be well initialized with a-priori knowledge. So we will
present a version of a reinforcement decision system together with an overall
scheme for efficiently controlling highly focused devices.


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--- Navigation on Topologic Feature-Maps
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           ---   File name is : Zimmer.Navigation.ps.Z   ---

            IIZUKA `94, Fukuoka, Japan August 1-7, 1994

               Navigation on Topologic Feature-Maps

        Uwe R. Zimmer, Cornelia Fischer & Ewald von Puttkamer

Based on the idea of using topologic feature-maps instead of geometric
environment maps in practical mobile robot tasks, we show an applicable way to
navigate on such topologic maps. The main features regarding this kind of
navigation are: handling of very inaccurate position (and orientation)
information as well as implicit modelling of complex kinematics during an
adaptation phase.
Due to the lack of proper a-priori knowledge, a reinforcement based model is
used for the translation of navigator commands to motor actions. Instead of
employing a backpropagation network for the central associative memory module
(attaching action-probabilities to sensor situations resp. navigator commands) a
much faster dynamic cell structure system based on dynamic feature maps is
shown. Standard graph-search heuristics like A* are applied in the planning
phase.


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--- Realtime-learning on an Autonomous Mobile Robot with Neural Networks
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            ---   File name is : Zimmer.Topologic.ps.Z   ---

 Euromicro `94 - RT-Workshop - Vaesteraas (Vasteras), Sweden, June 15-17, '94

    Realtime-learning on an Autonomous Mobile Robot with Neural Networks

                    Uwe R. Zimmer & Ewald von Puttkamer

The problem to be discussed here, is the usage of neural network clustering
techniques on a mobile robot, in order to build qualitative topologic
environment maps. This has to be done in realtime, i.e. the internal world-model
has to be adapted by the flow of sensor-samples without the possibility to stop
this data-flow. Our experiments are done in a simulation environment as well as
on a robot, called ALICE.

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FTP-information (anonymous login):

   FTP-Server is   : ftp.uni-kl.de
   Mode is         : binary
   Directory is    : reports_uni-kl/computer_science/mobile_robots/...

   Subdirectory is : 1994/papers
   File names are  : Zimmer.Navigation.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.Topologic.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.Visual_Search.ps.Z

   Subdirectory is : 1993/papers
   File names are  : Zimmer.learning_surfaces.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.SPIN-NFDS.ps.Z

   Subdirectory is : 1992/papers
   File name is    : Zimmer.rt_communication.ps.Z

   Subdirectory is : 1991/papers
   File names are  : Edlinger.Pos_Estimation.ps.Z
                     Edlinger.Eff_Navigation.ps.Z
                     Knieriemen.euromicro_91.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.albatross.ps.Z 
.. or ...

   FTP-Server is   : archive.cis.ohio-state.edu
   Mode is         : binary
   Directory is    : /pub/neuroprose
   File names are  : zimmer.navigation.ps.z
                     zimmer.visual_search.ps.z
                     zimmer.learning_surfaces.ps.z
                     zimmer.spin-nfds.ps.z
.. or ...

   FTP-Server is   : ag_vp_file_server.informatik.uni-kl.de
   Mode is         : binary
   Directory is    : Neural_Networks/Reports
   File names are  : Zimmer.Navigation.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.Topologic.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.Visual_Search.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.Learning_Surfaces.ps.Z
                     Zimmer.SPIN-NFDS.ps.Z

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                                                       ----- 
   Uwe R. Zimmer                                              ---
     University of Kaiserslautern - Computer Science Department  |
     Research Group Prof. v. Puttkamer                           |
   67663 Kaiserslautern - Germany                                |
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    P.O.Box:3049 | Phone:+49 631 205 2624 | Fax:+49 631 205 2803 |