Franklin & Marshall psychology professor Michael Anderson believes computer systems would work more efficiently if they could think beyond a given set of circumstances.
So Anderson, who recently received a $106,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, is going to build two robots with metacognitive software as part of a research project to improve the ability of information-seeking vehicles, such as the rovers that explore Mars. Anderson said the concept behind the grant project, "Improving Robustness with Generalized Meta-Cognition," is simple: To give artificial intelligence systems more flexibility.
"The goal is to make the brains of these systems better and help them make decisions on their own and that are appropriate," Anderson said.
For example, Anderson said the rovers that collect samples and take pictures of Mars are unable to correct their own mistakes without the help of someone on Earth.
The software in the robots Anderson is designing will give rovers the ability to assess mistakes or problems in functions and correct them.
"We want the system to say 'Why did that happen?'!\p " Anderson said. "!\p 'What's different about these circumstances?'!\p "
Anderson said he hopes to start building the small-scale rovers in December with the help of two undergraduate students.
One of those students, Boyko Perfanov, 21, a senior majoring in physics, will be assisting Anderson with the project.
Perfanov is already investigating what robots would be appropriate to use.
"I am very enthusiastic about this project," Perfanov said. "I think it's fascinating to make a machine that is completely autonomous and develops its style of thinking."
The robots, which should be completed in the spring, will be tested using a simulated landscape. The success of the research will be measured by how the robots perform in a normal environment and how fast they can rethink and correct functions when conditions are atypical.
"If this research proves fruitful it will not only benefit rovers but all types of (computerized) vehicles," Anderson said. "Even for desktop computers, if instead of crashing, they make appropriate adjustments … the gains could be enormous."
Anderson said the research also is important because software of this kind can lend itself to areas such as the military and the concept of someday manipulating U.S. convoys from a remote location.
The project is a three-year $800,000 collaborative grant in which F&M is partnering with the University of Maryland at College Park, the University of Maryland at Baltimore County and Bowie State University.
After the rovers are built, they will be sent to a researcher at the University of Maryland at College Park, where the rovers will be sent natural language commands and undergo further testing.
"Those signals will tell the rover what to do in its own language," Anderson said.
Anderson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame in premedical studies and a doctorate from Yale University in philosophy of mind/cognitive science.
He received a postdoctoral degree at the University of Maryland at College Park in computer science/artificial intelligence.
E-mail: mpennino@lnpnews.com