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GRASP Seminar Series: Fall 2006
November 17, 12:00 p.m., Wu & Chen Auditorium
Ken
Goldberg
UC Berkeley
"Collaborative observatories for natrual environments"
Abstract: I'll describe a new class of systems that combine networks, robots, cameras, sensors, actuators, and human input to observe and record detailed animal behavior in remote settings. In one application, we are assisting the Cornell team that is searching a remote area of Arkansas for the elusive Ivory Billed Woodpecker, thought extinct since the 1940s. I'll present a series of results on robots collaboratively controlled by humans via networks. My lab has been investigating the algorithmic foundations for such observatories: new metrics, models, data structures, and algorithms, that will comprise a robust, mathematical framework for collaborative observation. Newly available robotic cameras offer pan, tilt, and extreme zoom capabilities with built-in network servers at low cost. These cameras motivate the Single Frame Selection (SFS) problem, where $n$ users share control of a single robotic camera. I'll present several algorithms, $O(n^2 m)$ for a set of $m$ zoom levels, and $O((n + 1/\epsilon^3) log^2 n)$ for an infinite set of zoom levels. The algorithms can be distributed to run in $O(n m)$ time at each client and in $O(n \log n)$ time at the server. We are building prototypes that will be accessible via the internet to scientists, students, and the public worldwide. http://www.c-o-n-e.org
Biography: Ken Goldberg is Professor of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, with a joint appointment in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at UC Berkeley. Prof. Goldberg's research involves networked telerobotics.
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