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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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University of Massachusetts Amherst

Computer Science Department Faculty Publication Series

Mobile robots

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Multi-Sensor Mobile Robot Localization For Diverse Environments, Joydeep Biswas, Manuela M. Veloso Jan 2014

Multi-Sensor Mobile Robot Localization For Diverse Environments, Joydeep Biswas, Manuela M. Veloso

Computer Science Department Faculty Publication Series

Mobile robot localization with different sensors and algorithms is a widely studied problem, and there have been many approaches proposed, with considerable degrees of success. However, every sensor and algorithm has limitations, due to which we believe no single localization algorithm can be “perfect,” or universally applicable to all situations. Laser rangefinders are commonly used for localization, and state-of-theart algorithms are capable of achieving sub-centimeter accuracy in environments with features observable by laser rangefinders. Unfortunately, in large scale environments, there are bound to be areas devoid of features visible by a laser rangefinder, like open atria or corridors with glass …


Accelerating Reinforcement Learning Through The Discovery Of Useful Subgoals, Amy Mcgovern, Andrew G. Barto Jan 2001

Accelerating Reinforcement Learning Through The Discovery Of Useful Subgoals, Amy Mcgovern, Andrew G. Barto

Computer Science Department Faculty Publication Series

An ability to adjust to changing environments and unforeseen circumstances is likely to be an important component of a successful autonomous space robot. This paper shows how to augment reinforcement learning algorithms with a method for automatically discovering certain types of subgoals online. By creating useful new subgoals while learning, the agent is able to accelerate learning on a current task and to transfer its expertise to related tasks through the reuse of its ability to attain subgoals. Subgoals are created based on commonalities across multiple paths to a solution. We cast the task of finding these commonalities as a …