As robots transition from controlled environments, such as industrial settings, to more dynamic and unpredictable real-world applications, the need for adaptable and robust learning methods becomes paramount. In this dissertation we develop Interactive Imitation Learning (IIL) based methods that allow robots to learn from imperfect demonstrations. We achieve this by incorporating human factors such as the quality of their demonstrations and the level of effort they are willing to invest in teaching the robot. Our research is structured around three key contributions. First, we examine scenarios where robots have access to high-quality human demonstrations and abundant corrective feedback. In this setup, we introduce an algorithm called SARI (Shared Autonomy across Repeated Interactions), that leverages repeated human-robot interactions to learn from humans. Through extensive simulations and real-world experiments, we demonstrate that SARI significantly enhances the robot's ability to perform complex tasks by iteratively improving its understanding and responses based on human feedback. Second, we explore scenarios where human demonstrations are suboptimal and no additional corrective feedback is provided. This approach acknowledges the inherent imperfections in human teaching and aims to develop robots that can learn effectively under such conditions. We accomplish this by allowing the robot to adopt a risk-averse strategy that underestimates the human's abilities. This method is particularly valuable in household environments where users may not have the expertise or patience to provide perfect demonstrations. Finally, we address the challenge of learning from a single video demonstration. This is particularly relevant for enabling robots to learn tasks without extensive human involvement. We present VIEW (Visual Imitation lEarning with Waypoints), a method that focuses on extracting critical waypoints from video demonstrations. By identifying key positions and movements, VIEW allows robots to efficiently replicate tasks with minimal training data. Our experiments show that VIEW can significantly reduce both the number of trials required and the time needed for the robot to learn new tasks. The findings from this research highlight the importance of incorporating advanced learning algorithms and interactive methods to enhance the robot's ability to operate autonomously in diverse environments. By addressing the variability in human teaching and leveraging innovative learning strategies, this dissertation contributes to the development of more adaptable, efficient, and user-friendly robotic systems. / Doctor of Philosophy / Robots are becoming increasingly common outside manufacturing facilities. In these unstructured environments, people might not always be able to give perfect instructions or might make mistakes. This dissertation explores methods that allow robots to learn tasks by observing human demonstrations, even when those demonstrations are imperfect. First, we look at scenarios where humans can provide high-quality demonstrations and corrections. We introduce an algorithm called SARI (Shared Autonomy across Repeated Interactions). SARI helps robots get better at tasks by learning from repeated interactions with humans. Through various experiments, we found that SARI significantly improves the robot's ability to perform complex tasks, making it more reliable and efficient. Next, we explore scenarios where the human demonstrations are not perfect, and no additional corrections are given. This approach takes everyday scenarios into account, where people might not have the time or expertise to provide perfect instructions. By designing a method that assumes humans might make mistakes, we can create robots that can learn safely and effectively. This makes the robots more adaptable and easier to use for a diverse group of people. Finally, we tackle the challenge of teaching robots from a single video demonstration. This method is particularly useful because it requires less involvement from humans. We developed VIEW (Visual Imitation lEarning with Waypoints), a method that helps robots learn tasks by focusing on the most important parts of a video demonstration. By identifying key points and movements, VIEW allows robots to quickly and efficiently replicate tasks with minimal training. This method significantly reduces the time and effort needed for robots to learn new tasks. Overall, this research shows that by using advanced learning techniques and interactive methods, we can create robots that are more adaptable, efficient, and user-friendly. These robots can learn from humans in various environments and become valuable assistants in our daily lives.

Le but de cette thèse est le transfert du mouvement humain vers un robot humanoïde en ligne. Dans une première partie, le mouvement humain, enregistré par un système de capture de mouvement, est analysé pour extraire des caractéristiques qui doivent être transférées vers le robot humanoïde. Dans un deuxième temps, le mouvement du robot qui comprend ces caractéristiques est calculé en utilisant la cinématique inverse avec priorité. L'ensemble des tâches avec leurs priorités est ainsi transféré. La méthode permet une reproduction du mouvement la plus fidèle possible, en ligne et pour le haut du corps. Finalement, nous étudions le problème du transfert mouvement des pieds. Pour cette étude, le mouvement des pieds est analysé pour extraire les trajectoires euclidiennes qui sont adaptées au robot. Les trajectoires du centre du masse qui garantit que le robot ne tombe pas sont calculées `a partir de la position des pieds et du modèle du pendule inverse. Il est ainsi possible réaliser une imitation complète incluant les mouvements du haut du corps ainsi que les mouvements des pieds. / The aim of this thesis is to transfer human motion to a humanoid robot online. In the first part of this work, the human motion recorded by a motion capture system is analyzed to extract salient features that are to be transferred on the humanoid robot. We introduce the humanoid normalized model as the set of motion properties. In the second part of this work, the robot motion that includes the human motion features is computed using the inverse kinematics with priority. In order to transfer the motion properties a stack of tasks is predefined. Each motion property in the humanoid normalized model corresponds to one target in the stack of tasks. We propose a framework to transfer human motion online as close as possible to a human motion performance for the upper body. Finally, we study the problem of transfering feet motion. In this study, the motion of feet is analyzed to extract the Euclidean trajectories adapted to the robot. Moreover, the trajectory of the center of mass which ensures that the robot does not fall is calculated from the feet positions and the inverse pendulum model of the robot. Using this result, it is possible to achieve complete imitation of upper body movements and including feet motion

Cette thèse porte sur la littérature mauricienne (contes et nouvelles) d'expression française dès son début jusqu’à l'indépendance. L'île Maurice a connu une double colonisation importante : la colonisation française de 1715 à 1810 et la colonisation britannique de 1810 à 1968. Ces bouleversements politiques, en particulier, la reprise de l'île par les Anglais, ont donné un essor à la littérature mauricienne. Cependant, de nos jours, cette littérature est souvent oubliée ou perçue comme une suite d'imitation. En effet, à l'époque, les écrivains puisaient souvent leurs idées des oeuvres et des mouvements littéraires européens. Toutefois, vers les années 1940, une innovation est notée dans l'écriture et la thématique des oeuvres mauriciennes. Notre étude examine ainsi l'évolution dans les nouvelles et contes mauriciens, car l'invention y est. / This thesis analyses short stories of Mauritius in the French language during the colonial period. In fact, Mauritius has been colonised by the French from 1715 till 1810, and by the British from 1810 till 1968, in which year it gained its independence. These political upheavals had an impact on the literary works of that time, works which are nowadays forgotten and have often been accused of being a literature of imitation. However, in the 1940s, innovative ideas started to crop up and changes in the writings and themes are observed. This study therefore illustrates the evolution and invention in Mauritian writings especially in its short stories.

La seconde moitié du XVIe siècle voit naître le théâtre moderne français sous l’effet d’une vaste réflexion sur la littérature, indissociable de la théorie de l’imitation créatrice promue comme méthode d’écriture universelle par les Humanistes. Les termes et les enjeux de cette réflexion se transforment dans la première moitié du XVIIe siècle, notamment à partir de la fin des années 1620, où s’engagent des débat sur le théâtre, alors très riche en tentatives de renouvellement dramatique. Dans ces circonstances, le choix des sources d’inspiration n’est pas indifférent. Les auteurs ne sont pas seulement en quête de sujets, ils cherchent aussi des formes nouvelles chez les écrivains étrangers, qui nourrissent tant la pratique que la théorie. L’étude d’un siècle de théâtre permet de dégager plusieurs cycles d’inspiration dans l’histoire de la tragi-comédie, de la tragédie et de la comédie, et de constater que ces cycles correspondent aux étapes majeures de l’évolution de chacun de ces genres. Inventio et dramaturgie entretiennent des liens étroits. L’étude des cycles met en évidence le sens et les conséquences de la pratique de l’adaptation ou de la récriture et du choix de sources antiques, italiennes, espagnoles ou françaises, à une époque où la question des modèles est centrale et débattue. La notion de cycle permet d’envisager les sources d’inspiration comme des phénomènes périodiques et de montrer comment le théâtre s’élabore et trouve sa singularité à travers l’imitation. Enfin, l’étude du rapport cyclique des auteurs français aux sources antiques et modernes conduit à réfléchir à la circulation des sujets et des formes en Europe et à la question des cycles européens. / In the second half of the sixteenth century, modern French drama is developed from humanist reflection upon both past literature and the theory of imitation, considered a universal writing method by period scholars. In the first half of the 17th century, especially from the 1620s on, the evolving terms and stakes of such reflection produce numerous debates about drama, a genre then full of dramatic experimentation and renovation. Under these circumstances, the choice of inspiration is not insignificant. The dramatists not only look for subjects, but also for novel literary forms from foreign writers that could feed practice as much as theory. Studying one century of dramatic creations enables us to outline several cycles of inspiration within the history of tragicomedy, tragedy and comedy, and to record how these cycles match the main stages of evolution of those three genres. Throughout, Inventio and dramaturgy maintain close relations with each other. At a time when the central and most debated question is one of models, analyzing these cycles highlights the meaning and consequences of the use of adaptation and rewriting, and the choice of ancient, Italian, Spanish or French inspirations. The concept of cycles enables the comprehension of the sources of inspiration as periodical phenomenon and to show how drama uniquely evolves through imitation. In conclusion, studying the cyclic relation between the French playwrights and their ancient and modern inspirations leads to the examination of Modern French drama’s European nature and the circulation and transference of subjects and literary forms.

Résumé non transmis / Summary not transmitted

Cette thèse présente une étude historique des traductions et imitations britanniques du livre IV de l’Énéide de Virgile aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles, depuis l’Eneados de Gavin Douglas [1513] jusqu’au Dryden’s Virgil de 1697. À travers une étude comparative des traductions successives de l’épisode, on y dégage les transformations de la notion d’ imitation comme modèle de la traduction littéraire au cours de la période. À une conception de la traduction dominée au XVIe siècle par le modèle rhétorique antique de l’imitatio, et par le souci de développer l’épopée vernaculaire sur le modèle virgilien, succède dans la première moitié du XVIIe siècle une définition spécifique de l’imitation comme modalité de la traduction libre. Dans un contexte de crise politique et de compétition entre les différentes versions de l’épisode, les “imitations” deviennent le lieu de prises de position idéologiques et esthétiques, dans des interprétations contrastées du modèle épique virgilien. Les réécritures du livre IV de l’Énéide qui marquent le second XVIIe siècle témoignent d’un certain éclatement de la notion d’ imitation, qui désigne à la fois les réécritures satiriques et parodiques de l’épisode, et l’entreprise de fondation culturelle et esthétique de l’âge “augustéen”. Au modèle herméneutique hérité des traducteurs humanistes se substitue alors avec Dryden une conception esthétique de la traduction littéraire comme mimesis artistique. L’étude associe l’analyse des stratégies formelles et interprétatives propres à chaque traduction à une réflexion sur la réception britannique de l’Énéide et offre des éléments de méthode pour l’analyse historique des traductions sur la longue durée. / This thesis consists in a historical study of the translations and imitations of Virgil’s Aeneid IV in XVIth- and XVIIth century Britain. Through a comparative analysis of the many translations of the episode between Douglas’s Eneados [1513] and Dryden’s 1697 Virgil, this study highlights the main transformations of the notion of imitation as a central concept in Early Modern translation theory and practice. First dominated by the Classical model of rhetorical imitatio and by the Humanist fashioning of the vernacular epic after Virgil’s Aeneid, the concept of imitation is reinterpreted in the first half of the XVIIth century as an form of free translation. In a context of political crisis, of competing translations of the episode, and of clashing interpretations of the virgilian epic model, the practice of imitation reads as an assertion of the translators’ aesthetic and political agendas. In the second half of the XVIIth century, the rewritings of Aeneid IV reveal a paradoxical reappropriation of the notion of imitation, which is used at once to define the satirical parodies of Virgil’s epic, and to establish the political and cultural foundations of the “Augustan age”. With Dryden’s Virgil, the hermeneutic model of translation inherited from the Humanists is replaced by a specifically aesthetic theory of literary translation modelled on the neoclassical discourse on mimesis. The aim of this study is to combine a detailed analysis of the literary and interpretive strategies at work in each translation with a broader discussion of the reception of Virgil’s Aeneid, and to develop a method for the historical analysis of the translations of a given text over a long period of time.

In school, pupils learn to critically relate to sources of various texts. In the course of time they also learn how to make references and cite properly. Yet, alarming reports show increasing cheating and plagiarism in colleges and universities. Plagiarism prevention services are used today in Swedish high schools. We are questioning how this relates to the sociocultural perspective and curriculum view of imitation as a natural part of the learning process, communication and language. Material from depth interviews, with four teachers in the school subject Swedish about their theoretical and practical approach to students' writing process and writing development are used to deal with the issues of this thesis. The results from the interviews are analyzed in relation to a literature study on the subject. Research on the sociocultural perspective shows that imitation is a natural part of the learning process, communication and language. The form of intertextuality that occurs when texts are imitated and voices are borrowed - dialogism - is not only natural but also necessary for all writing development. We seem to be unable to discern the natural role of imitation in students’ writing development among all respondents.

The aim of our graduate work is to study the importance of image and shape’s in children's development and learning and also the preschool teacher’s views on image and shapes. Our research aims to explore the value of image and shapes creation and how it is expressed among children and in classroom activities. We are also interested in finding out how it differs from adults' views and what materials teachers use to promote the image and shapes creation in the curriculum. In our own experience, image and shapes activities are often structured differently in different curriculum activities. We therefore want to study how certain preschools work with image and form creation with children in preschool. We have performed the study through five qualitative interviews with preschool teachers and four observations on three different preschools in Stockholm. The main theory of the extension of our work is about Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective. We will find out about how according to the sociocultural perspective children can develop learning. The conclusion we have reached is that the preschool teachers interviewed seem to agree greatly with each other about how image and shapes creation affects for children's development and learning. Although there were some minor differences, for example, if the children learned by imitating each other in creative work. But in this part it was just one preschool teacher who differed from the others' vague.

Disertaciniame darbe nagrinėjama kolegijų studentų verslumo ugdymo(si) proceso veiksmingumas taikant imitacinės verslo įmonės modelį. Nustatyti kolegijų studentų verslumo gebėjimai ir savybės ugdomi imitacinėje verslo įmonėje, požymiai, demonstruojantys kolegijų studentų verslumo ugdymo(si) proceso veiksmingumą taikant imitacinės verslo įmonės modelį bei numatytos verslumo ugdymo(si) tobulinimo galimybės ir perspektyvos. Remiantis verslumo ugdymo(si) koncepcijomis ir teorijomis, filosofinėmis kryptimis, kilusiomis iš skirtingų filosofinių tradicijų ir fenomenologinėmis nuostatomis sukurta verslumo ugdymo(si) proceso tyrimo metodologija, leidžianti įvertinti verslumo ugdymo(si) veiksmingumą imitacinėje verslo įmonėje ir nustatyti iškylančias problemas. Atlikta edukacinė, vadybinė ir filosofinė literatūros analizė leido pagrįsti verslumo ugdymo(si) veiksmingumą šiuolaikinių edukacinių paradigmų kaitos kontekste apibūdinant: verslumo sampratą, verslumo ugdymo(si) programų, tikslų ir mokymo(si) metodų įvairovę, imitacinių modelių ir technologijų taikymo galimybes ir sąlygas. Empirinis tyrimas atliktas pasitelkus kiekybinius ir kokybinius tyrimo metodus. Taikyta anketinė apklausa, pusiau struktūrizuotas interviu, turinio (content) analizės ir statistinės (faktorinės) duomenų analizės metodai. / The dissertation analyses the efficiency of College students’ entrepreneurship education process by applying the model of Imitation Business Enterprise. Entrepreneurship skills and characteristics of College students educated in the Imitation Business Enterprise are identified, features demonstrating the efficiency of College students’ entrepreneurship education process by applying the model of Imitation Business Enterprise and business education development opportunities and perspectives are shown. On the basis of entrepreneurship education concepts and theories, philosophical trends arising from different philosophical traditions and the phenomenological rules, an entrepreneurship education process research methodology is created. It allows evaluating efficiency of entrepreneurship education in the Imitation Business Enterprise as well as allows determining the problems appearing. The performed educational, managerial and philosophical literature analysis helped to base the efficiency of entrepreneurship education in the context of contemporary educational paradigms by describing: the concept of entrepreneurship, variety of entrepreneurship education programs, objectives and education methods, opportunities and conditions for applying imitation models and technologies. Empirical research was performed by using the quantitative and qualitative research methods.

À partir de la comparaison de quatre romans écrits à différentes périodes du XXesiècle, dans des langues et des lieux différents, mais tous marqués par un commun héritagejuif polonais – Dans les forêts de Pologne de Joseph Opatoshu, Satan à Goray d’IsaacBashevis Singer, Le Dernier des Justes d’André Schwarz-Bart et Voir ci-dessous : Amour deDavid Grossman – l’objet de cette étude est d’observer les transformations et lesdéplacements de la mémoire juive dès lors que celle-ci passe de l’univers sacré de la traditionà la littérature. L’attention portée aux questions d’imitation et de subversion permet de saisirles phénomènes de continuité et de discontinuité qui accompagnent la dissolution descommunautés traditionnelles et le passage à la modernité. Pour comprendre comment cestransformations s’opèrent au niveau textuel, dans le travail de mise en récit par lequel seredéfinit la culture, on mettra en relation les stratégies proprement littéraires d’intertextualité,de pastiche, de citation ou de parodie avec les actes mimétiques d’identification, de projectionet de jeu auxquels se livrent les personnages. La récurrence des questions de fidélité et detrahison, d’imitation et de rivalité, invite à interroger le rôle des modèles culturels et lamanière dont le transfert et le renouvellement de ceux-ci participent à la redéfinition de lamémoire du groupe. Le romanesque, parce qu’il met en acte des processus mimétiques qu’ilobserve de manière distanciée, rejoue et déjoue tout à la fois les mythes identitaires créés parla modernité. / Through the comparison of four novels written at different periods of the 20th century,in different languages and different places, but each marked by a common Polish-Jewishheritage – In Polish Woods by Joseph Opatoshu, Satan in Goray by Isaac Bashevis Singer,The Last of the Just by André Schwarz-Bart and See Under: Love by David Grossman – theobject of this study is to observe the transformation of Jewish memory as it passes from thereligious sphere to that of secular literature. By investigating the themes of imitation andsubversion in literature, it is possible to understand the process of continuity and discontinuitywhich accompany the dissolution of traditional communities and their passage to modernity.To see how this transformation operates on a textual level, in the constitution of newnarratives by which culture is redefined, we will connect the literary strategies ofintertextuality, pastiche, reference or parody on the part of the authors with the mimetic actsof identifying, projection, and play performed by the characters. The recurrence of thequestions of fidelity and betrayal, of imitation and rivalry, invites us to investigate the role ofcultural models and the manner in which their transfer and renewal redefine group memory.The novel, by enacting mimetic processes which are observed from a perspective of distance,manages to both reproduce and at the same time dismantle the myths of identity created bymodernity.