Toward Reliable Robot Navigation Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

Reliable indoor navigation in the presence of dynamic obstacles is an essential capability for mobile robot deployment. Previous work on robot navigation focuses on expanding the network structure and hardware setup leading to more complex and costly systems. The accompanying physical demonstrations are often limited to slow-moving agents and...

Towards a Swarm of Robots for Detecting Breaches in Social Distancing

Robotic agents can continuously provide feedback to people based on their behaviors. For instance, a robot swarm can remind a group of people to respect social distancing guidelines during a pandemic or discourage unwanted behavior such as littering. However, developing a swarm robot to operate in realistic situations is challenging: a robot...

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Rapid Communication Network Recovery with Multiple Repair Crews

Natural disasters can destroy communication network components, potentially leading to severe losses in connectivity. During those devastating events, network connectivity is crucial for rescue teams as well as anyone in need of assistance. Therefore, swift network restoration following a disaster is vital. However, post-disaster network...