Robots must plan and execute tasks in the presence of uncertainty. Uncertainty arises from sensing errors, control errors, and uncertainty in the geometry of the environment. The last, which is called model error, has ...

Explanation-based Generalization requires that the learner obtain an explanation of why a precedent exemplifies a concept. It is, therefore, useless if the system fails to find this explanation. However, it is not ...

This thesis addresses the problem of synthesizing grasps that are force-closure and stable. The synthesis of force-closure grasps constructs independent regions of contact for the fingertips, such that the motion of ...

This thesis examines a tactile sensor and a thermal sensor for use with the Utah-MIT dexterous four fingered hand. Sensory feedback is critical or full utilization of its advanced manipulatory capabilities. The hand ...

Two methods of obtaining approximate solutions to the classic General Job-shop Scheduling Program are investigated. The first method is iterative. A sampling of the solution space is used to decide which of a collection ...

Comparative analysis is the problem of predicting how a system will react to perturbations in its parameters, and why. For example, comparative analysis could be asked to explain why the period of an oscillating ...

My work is broadly concerned with the question "How can designs bessynthesized computationally?" The project deals primarily with mechanical devices and focuses on pre-parametric design: design at the level of detail ...

Control of machines that exhibit flexibility becomes important when designers attempt to push the state of the art with faster, lighter machines. Three steps are necessary for the control of a flexible planet. First, ...

Dynamic systems which undergo rapid motion can excite natural frequencies that lead to residual vibration at the end of motion. This work presents a method to shape force profiles that reduce excitation energy at the ...

This report describes a paradigm for combining associational and causal reasoning to achieve efficient and robust problem-solving behavior. The Generate, Test and Debug (GTD) paradigm generates initial hypotheses using ...

This thesis addresses the problem of recognizing solid objects in the three-dimensional world, using two-dimensional shape information extracted from a single image. Objects can be partly occluded and can occur in ...

This paper explores automating the qualitative analysis of physical systems. It describes a program, called PLR, that takes parameterized ordinary differential equations as input and produces a qualitative description of ...

I describe an approach to forming hypotheses about hidden mechanism configurations within devices given external observations and a vocabulary of primitive mechanisms. An implemented causal modelling system called ...

Software bugs are violated specifications. Debugging is the process that culminates in repairing a program so that it satisfies its specification. An important part of debugging is localization, whereby the smallest ...

This thesis presents a new approach to building a design for testability (DFT) system. The system takes a digital circuit description, finds out the problems in testing it, and suggests circuit modifications to correct ...

This thesis explores ways to augment a model-based diagnostic program with a learning component, so that it speeds up as it solves problems. Several learning components are proposed, each exploiting a different kind ...

Previous research in force control has focused on the choice of appropriate servo implementation without corresponding regard to the choice of mechanical hardware. This report analyzes the effect of mechanical properties ...

This report presents issues relating to the kinematics and control of dexterous robotic hands using the Utah-MIT hand as an illustrative example. The emphasis throughout is on the actual implementation and testing of ...

This report shows how knowledge about the visual world can be built into a shape representation in the form of a descriptive vocabulary making explicit the important geometrical relationships comprising objects' shapes. ...

High order multistep methods, run at constant stepsize, are very effective for integrating the Newtonian solar system for extended periods of time. I have studied the stability and error growth of these methods when ...