CKSRI Seminar Series 2024 “Interaction between AI and Feedback in Robotics and Autonomous Systems "
ABSTRACT: This seminar has invited Prof Wen-Hua Chen, Professor of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering Department at Loughborough University to discuss the interaction between AI and feedback in robotics and autonomous systems.
Driven by the need of further increasing productivity and improving wellbeing and enabled by recent developments in AI and other digital technologies, we are moving into an era of highly automated society. Among others, autonomous driving, unmanned aviation, healthcare robots and automatic trading, are hot topics in media and daily discussion. Are we ready? Are they safe?
This talk aims to trig more debates and discussion along these lines, particularly exploring the role of feedback in robotics and autonomous systems. It argues that feedback is fundamental to high levels of automation and pays the central role in understanding not only the interactions between key functions like perception and decision making/planning in robotics and autonomous systems, but also on their interactions with system behaviours and environment. Examples are provided to illustrate undesirable behaviours caused by the coupling between optimisation and system dynamics, and interaction between perception and planning. Particularly recently proposed dual control concept is advocated for optimal exploitation-exploration and active learning capability. Its links and differences with reinforcement learning and active inference in neuroscience are highlighted.
SPEAKER(S): Dr Wen-Hua Chen holds Professor in Autonomous Vehicles and the founding Director of Centre for Autonomous Systems in the Department of Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering at Loughborough University, UK. Prof. Chen has a considerable experience in control, signal processing and artificial intelligence and their applications in aerospace, automotive and agriculture systems. In the last 20 years, he has been working on the development and application of unmanned aircraft system and intelligent vehicle technologies, spanning autopilots, situational awareness, decision making, verification, remote sensing for precision agriculture and environment monitoring. He is a Chartered Engineer, and a Fellow of IEEE, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, UK. Prof Chen currently holds a 5-years Established Career Fellowship of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) in developing AI enabled control systems for robotics and autonomous systems, the highest award of the talent program by the UK government funding agencies.