By David Graff, AAU Communication and Public Affairs
Photo: AAU

If there is one thing that everyone who works on robotics agrees on, it is that robots will have a fundamental impact on our lives and society

But even though robotics is already making a difference in many places, problems remain.  

For example, when industrial robots fail or even block people, or when controlling robots in the healthcare sector becomes so demanding that people with disabilities, who need the robots more than anyone else, are unable to handle the task. 

Artificial intelligence may be the missing piece 
In short, it's about getting robots to work much more intuitively and efficiently with humans and with each other. This is the focus of a new AI lab at Aalborg University with the name AI:Cybernetics.   

"Our goal is to create AI that is not only smart in theory, but also safe, adaptive and action-oriented in practice, whether it is about controlling prostheses, optimizing production or understanding complex data," explains Dimitris Chrysostomou, Associate Professor, Department of Materials and Production. 

Along with Jakob Dideriksen, Associate Professor, Department of Health Science and Technology, Dimitris Chrysostomou leads the work in the lab. By uniting the two departments, expertise in robotics, cyber-physical systems, human-AI interaction and learning-based control are brought together around with one goal: to develop robots that can collaborate more naturally with humans in the healthcare sector than today. 

More specifically, the lab will develop a new form of control where AI combines human signals (such as muscle signals) with an understanding of the surroundings, for example via cameras.  

"Within the first year, we expect to be able to demonstrate AI that works reliably in real-world environments; think smart factories, adaptive robots and robust decision support," explains Dimitris Chrysostomou, who provides knowledge on autonomous systems, skill-based robot programming and AI-driven decision-making in industrial environments.  

Interaction with the public 
Jakob Dideriksen says that interaction with the public will be key in the lab's work as the purpose is to develop AI-based robotics that we will all have to interact with: 

"It is essential that the methods we develop work in practice and that, for example, prosthetic users find that they improve their ability to utilize the full potential of their prosthesis. So, we will hold various events and openly share our progress through trials, workshops and open laboratory days with potential users," he says. 

In the near future, PhD students with an interdisciplinary orientation will be hired to work on, for example, adaptive control of rehabilitation robots, integration of information from various sensors for industrial cobots and multimodal AI for controlling robots in efficient collaboration between the user and the robot. 
 
Translated by LeeAnn Iovanni, AAU Communication and Public Affairs.