Researchers from Edinburgh have created a new system that allows humans to ask robots questions and understand their actions in real-time. This system is called the Multimodal Intelligent inteRaction for Autonomous SysteMs (MIRIAM) that uses natural language, which allows users to ask questions and receive explanations on what the robot is doing.
The researchers have been working with the Offshore Robotics for the Certification of Assets (ORCA) Hub, which is a consortium led by Heriot-Watt and Edinburgh universities.
MIRIAM is the latest aspect of Total's multimillion-pound project that will see the technology used at the Shetland Gas Plant of the energy giant.
Robots That Are a Little Bit Amazon Alexa
As part of the human-robot team that will be using MIRIAM, there will also be a tracked maintenance robot that will be controlled. Energy giant Total said that using robots could give safer, more efficient, and new ways of working.
Also, Herriott-Watt University professor of computer science Helen Hastie said that using MIRIAM is like controlling the house using Amazon Alexa, which can be activated using voice-command. Users can ask the robot questions such as, "Where are you?" or "What are you doing?"
"The robot may be doing something strange, like avoiding an obstacle. Now it can explain why," says Hastie.
Furthermore, she also said that robots run by autonomous systems could detect their environment and are capable of decision-making. However, there is one communication barrier between the human controllers and the robot when communicating why took such actions.
Professor Hastie said that this could be problematic in offshore that is remote, highly challenging, and hazardous because it could involve multiple platforms and vehicles. She added that greater trust between the human and machine means greater safety. Humans can fully trust the robots to clearly explain everything on how they work to build rapport, and soon machines will be "adopted" as humans' trusted partners.
Much of the work done on the robots is to make them able to plan and make their own decisions, but that will go to waste if the robots fail to be adopted to work with humans.
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Using MIRIAM
A new collaborative team will use MIRIAM wherein Heriot-Watt will integrate its research with Phusion, an engineering software firm, and Merkle Aquila which is a data science company. The UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Dstl, and SeeByte Ltd. is funding this project.
As the first mission for MIRIAM, it is tasked to create a human team together with a tracked robot called Offshore Ground Robotics Industrial Pilot (OGRIP). It is a machine developed by Total, Australian tech firm Taurob, and the Oil and Gas Technology Center that is based in Aberdeen.
OGRIP is designed to operate in extremely harsh and challenging environments, which include arid climates, extreme cold, and isolated locations to support energy exploration in these areas.
In the past, Husky, which is a chunky wheeled robot that exists in the relative calm of Heriot-Watt's robotics lab, worked together with MIRIAM.
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