Ronald C. Arkin
Encyclopedia
Ronald Craig Arkin is an American roboticist
and roboethicist
, and a Regents' Professor in the School of Interactive Computing
, College of Computing
at the Georgia Institute of Technology
. He is known for the motor schema technique in robot navigation and for his book Behavior-Based Robotics.
from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1971 and an M.S.
from the Stevens Institute of Technology
in 1977. He was a faculty member of Hawthorne College in Antrim, New Hampshire
from 1977 to 1989, serving as the Computer Science Depart Chair from 1986 to 1989. In 1985, he joined the Laboratory for Perceptual Robotics and VISIONS groups at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and received a Ph.D.
in 1987. His doctoral thesis Towards Cosmopolitan Robots: Intelligent Navigation in Extended Man-Made Environments was supervised by Edward M. Riseman
.
) at the Georgia Institute of Technology
and founded the Mobile Robot Laboratory. He became a Regents' Professor in 2002 and was the first person to hold such honor in the College of Computing's history. From August, 1997 to August, 1998, Arkin was a STINT Visiting Professor at the Centre for Autonomous Systems, Royal Institute of Technology
, Stockholm, Sweden. He served as the Sabbatical Chair for the Sony Intelligence Dynamics Laboratory, Tokyo, Japan, from June, 2005 to October, 2005, and was also a member of the Laboratory for analysis and architecture of systems at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
, Toulouse, France.
In 2006, the United States Department of Defense
contracted Arkin to conduct a study to determine if military robots could be made to operate ethically. The goal is to create a robot with an "artificial conscience" such that, for example, it might refrain from firing weaponry when children were detected, or to even understand the laws of war
and apply them in battle. “My intention in designing this is that robots will make less mistakes—hopefully far less mistakes—than humans do in the battlefield,” Arkin says.
Roboticist
A roboticist designs, builds, programs, and experiments with robots. Since robotics is a highly interdisciplinary field, roboticists often have backgrounds in a number of disciplines including computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer engineering...
and roboethicist
Roboethics
The term roboethics was coined by roboticist Gianmarco Veruggio in 2002, who also served as chair of an Atleier funded by the European Robotics Research Network to outline areas where research may be needed...
, and a Regents' Professor in the School of Interactive Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing
The School of Interactive Computing is an academic unit located within the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology . It conducts both research and teaching activities related to interactive computing at the undergraduate and graduate levels...
, College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing
The College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology has roots stretching back to an Information Science degree established in 1964. In 1988, Georgia Tech president John Patrick Crecine elevated the School of Information and Computer Science to become the College of Computing, making...
at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. He is known for the motor schema technique in robot navigation and for his book Behavior-Based Robotics.
Education
Ronald Arkin received a B.S.Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1971 and an M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
from the Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a technological university located on a campus in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA – founded in 1870 with an 1868 bequest from Edwin A. Stevens. It is known for its engineering, science, and technological management curricula.The institute has produced leading...
in 1977. He was a faculty member of Hawthorne College in Antrim, New Hampshire
Antrim, New Hampshire
Antrim is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,637 at the 2010 census. The primary settlement in the town, where 1,397 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Antrim census-designated place and is located at the intersection of U.S. Route...
from 1977 to 1989, serving as the Computer Science Depart Chair from 1986 to 1989. In 1985, he joined the Laboratory for Perceptual Robotics and VISIONS groups at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in 1987. His doctoral thesis Towards Cosmopolitan Robots: Intelligent Navigation in Extended Man-Made Environments was supervised by Edward M. Riseman
Edward M. Riseman
Edward M. Riseman was an American computer scientist and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst...
.
Career
Shortly after receiving his Ph.D., Ronald Arkin joined the School of Information and Computer Science (now College of ComputingGeorgia Institute of Technology College of Computing
The College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology has roots stretching back to an Information Science degree established in 1964. In 1988, Georgia Tech president John Patrick Crecine elevated the School of Information and Computer Science to become the College of Computing, making...
) at the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
and founded the Mobile Robot Laboratory. He became a Regents' Professor in 2002 and was the first person to hold such honor in the College of Computing's history. From August, 1997 to August, 1998, Arkin was a STINT Visiting Professor at the Centre for Autonomous Systems, Royal Institute of Technology
Royal Institute of Technology
The Royal Institute of Technology is a university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH was founded in 1827 as Sweden's first polytechnic and is one of Scandinavia's largest institutions of higher education in technology. KTH accounts for one-third of Sweden’s technical research and engineering education...
, Stockholm, Sweden. He served as the Sabbatical Chair for the Sony Intelligence Dynamics Laboratory, Tokyo, Japan, from June, 2005 to October, 2005, and was also a member of the Laboratory for analysis and architecture of systems at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Centre national de la recherche scientifique
The National Center of Scientific Research is the largest governmental research organization in France and the largest fundamental science agency in Europe....
, Toulouse, France.
In 2006, the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
contracted Arkin to conduct a study to determine if military robots could be made to operate ethically. The goal is to create a robot with an "artificial conscience" such that, for example, it might refrain from firing weaponry when children were detected, or to even understand the laws of war
Laws of war
The law of war is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct...
and apply them in battle. “My intention in designing this is that robots will make less mistakes—hopefully far less mistakes—than humans do in the battlefield,” Arkin says.
Research
- Mobile robots and unmanned aerial vehicles
- Behavior-based reactive control
- Action-oriented perception
- Hybrid deliberative/reactive software architectures
- Robot survivability
- Multiagent robotic systems
- BioroboticsBioroboticsBiorobotics is a term that loosely covers the fields of cybernetics, bionics and even genetic engineering as a collective study.Biorobotics is often used to refer to a real subfield of robotics: studying how to make robots that emulate or simulate living biological organisms mechanically or even...
- Human-robot interaction
- RoboethicsRoboethicsThe term roboethics was coined by roboticist Gianmarco Veruggio in 2002, who also served as chair of an Atleier funded by the European Robotics Research Network to outline areas where research may be needed...
- Learning in autonomous systems.
Students
- Robin Murphy (Summer, 1992). Thesis: An Architecture for Intelligent Sensor Fusion. Founder of rescue robotRescue robotA rescue robot is a robot that has been designed for the purpose of aiding rescue workers. Common situations that employ rescue robots are mining accidents, urban disasters, hostage situations, and explosions. Rescue robots were used in the search for victims and survivors after the September 11...
and currently a professor at the Texas A&M UniversityTexas A&M UniversityTexas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
, College Station, TX. - Erika Rogers (Fall, 1992). Thesis: Visual Interaction: A Link Between Perception and Problem-Solving. Currently a professor at the California Polytechnic UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State UniversityCalifornia Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....
, San Luis Obispo, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...
. - Douglas MacKenzie (Spring 1997). Thesis: A Design Methodology for the Configuration of Behavior-based Mobile Robots. President and Founder of Mobile Intelligence Co.
- Tucker Balch (Fall, 1998). Thesis: Behavioral Diversity in Learning Robot Teams. Currently an Associate Professor at the College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology.
- Khaled Ali (Spring, 1999). Thesis: Multiagent Robotics: Relating Systems to Tasks. Currently a Research Scientist at the Jet Propulsion LaboratoryJet Propulsion LaboratoryJet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
. - Alexander Stoytchev (Summer, 2007). Thesis: Robot Tool Behavior: A Developmental Approach to Autonomous Tool Use. Currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Iowa State UniversityIowa State UniversityIowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
, Ames, IowaAmes, IowaAmes is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa...
. - Eric Martinson (Fall 2007). Thesis: Acoustical Awareness for Intelligent Robotic Action.