idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instanz:
Teilen: 
29.05.2017 12:46

DFG Grants University of Bremen a Further Collaborative Research Center

Meike Mossig Pressestelle
Universität Bremen

    The German Research Foundation (DFG) has just granted the University of Bremen a further collaborative Research Center (CRC) in which scientists will apply completely new approaches to “training” robots to independently execute abstract instructions: In other words, they are helping them to “learn”. July 1, 2017, will see the start of the CRC EASE (Everyday Activity Science and Engineering). The initial four-year funding phase it is being financed by DFG in an amount of 10 million euro.

    Strengthening the high-profile research area “Minds, Media, Machines”

    The President of the University of Bremen, Professor Bernd Scholz-Reiter, commented the news by saying: “The DFG’s support for the new CRC provides further confirmation that our high-profile research area ‘Minds, Media, Machines’ creates strong synergizing effects by combining the expertise of the research fields of artificial intelligence, cognitive systems, and robotics. I’m delighted at the news and my congratulations go to the whole team”. The leader of the University’s high-profile research area, Professor Kerstin Schill, who is also the CRC’s deputy spokesperson, pointed out that “The CRC will further strengthen basic research, teaching and internationalization in the whole high-profile area”.

    Robots should increase the quality of life

    In the framework of basic research, EASE will investigate how humans are able to arrange everyday activities with flexibility, efficiency, and reliability. Such an understanding is intended to inspire a new generation of models for robotic control. “Developing robots to the point that they are able to follow instructions put in simple language opens up a whole range of possibilities to improve life quality – for people with disabilities, for example, or senior citizens who want to live independently in their own four walls for as long as possible”, explains the new CRC’s spokesperson, Professor Michael Beetz. Researchers can think of many more versatile applications for intelligent robots such as carrying out experiments with hazardous materials, for example.

    Democratization of robotics

    The CRC is of high societal relevance in other aspects, too: It brings together international scholars and scientists and supports the idea of “Open Research” – the concept of making research results easily available to anyone who has an interest in knowing them. It therefore systematically pursues the aim of democratization in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence so that developments will in future not be dominated solely by commercial interests. Working in cooperation with other universities, the University of Bremen has been laying the groundwork for intensive collaboration in the field of robotics for a number of years now.

    Interdisciplinary research

    Research activities in the CRC are highly interdisciplinary, involving not only computer science and mathematics, but also linguistics as well as the human and health sciences. Other external cooperation partners include the Excellence Cluster Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC) at the University of Bielefeld (Professor Helge Ritter), the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at the German Aerospace Center (Professor Alin Albu-Schäffer), and the Chair for Cognitive Systems of the Technical University of Munich (Professor Gordon Cheng).

    Three main research areas

    The CRC is divided into three main research areas, each of which deals with a specific aspect of everyday human activity. In the first area, ‘descriptive models of human everyday activity’, the EASE researchers develop new models for describing everyday human activity using the methods of neuropsychology, neuroinformatics and linguistics. The second area, ‘principles of information processing for everyday activity’, among other things investigates new methods of science presentation and automatic deductive reasoning for everyday activities using methods of theoretical informatics. In the third research area, ‘generative models for mastering everyday activity and their embodiment’, the insights gained from the two other areas are transferred to robotic systems and subsequently put to the test.

    “Household marathon” for robots

    By the end of the initial funding phase, the robots should be able to autonomously take part in a veritable “household marathon” comprising the performance of tasks like laying the table and preparing simple meals over longish periods of time.

    You can find more information on CRC EASE under: http://ease.informatik.uni-bremen.de

    Attention editorial staff: You can find image material at: https://seafile.zfn.uni-bremen.de/f/bbc264172f/?dl=1

    If you would like to have more information on this topic, feel free to contact:
    University of Bremen
    Prof. Michael Beetz, PhD (CRC Spokesperson)
    Phone: +49 (0) 421 218 64000
    email: ai-office@cs.uni-bremen.de


    Weitere Informationen:

    http://ease.informatik.uni-bremen.de


    Bilder

    CRC spokesperson, Professor Michael Beetz, and his interdisciplinary team of researchers want to “train” robots to independently act on abstract instructions.
    CRC spokesperson, Professor Michael Beetz, and his interdisciplinary team of researchers want to “tr ...
    Foto: Alexis Maldonado / Universität Bremen
    None


    Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
    jedermann
    Elektrotechnik, Informationstechnik, Psychologie, Sprache / Literatur
    überregional
    Forschungsprojekte
    Englisch


     

    CRC spokesperson, Professor Michael Beetz, and his interdisciplinary team of researchers want to “train” robots to independently act on abstract instructions.


    Zum Download

    x

    Hilfe

    Die Suche / Erweiterte Suche im idw-Archiv
    Verknüpfungen

    Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.

    Klammern

    Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).

    Wortgruppen

    Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.

    Auswahlkriterien

    Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).

    Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).