Human-Robot Cooperation Using Multi-Agent-Systems

In this paper a new intelligent robot control scheme is presented which enables a cooperative work of humans and robots through direct contact interaction in a partially known environment. Because of the high flexibility and adaptability, the human-robot cooperation is expected to have a wide range of applications in uncertain environments, not only in future construction and manufacturing industries but also in service branches. A multi-agent control architecture gives an appropriate frame for the flexibility of the human-robot-team. Robots are considered as intelligent autonomous assistants of humans which can mutually interact on a symbolic level and a physical level. This interaction is achieved through the exchange of information between humans and robots, the interpretation of the transmitted information, the coordination of the activities and the cooperation between independent system components. Equipped with sensing modalities for the perception of the environment, the robot system KAMRO (Karlsruhe Autonomous Mobile Robot) is introduced to demonstrate the principles of the cooperation among humans and robot agents. Experiments were conducted to prove the effectiveness of our concept.