In the future, robots will expand from industrial and research applications to the home. Domestic service robots will work in the home to perform useful tasks such as object retrieval, cleaning, organization, and security. The tireless support of these systems will not only enable able bodied people to avoid mundane chores; they will also enable the elderly to remain independent from institutional care by providing service, safety, and companionship. Robots will need to understand the relationship between objects and their environments to perform some of these tasks. Structured indoor environments are organized according to architectural guidelines and convenience for their residents. Utilizing this information makes it possible to predict the location of objects. Conversely, one can also predict the function of a room from the detection of a few objects within a given space. This thesis introduces a framework for combining object permanence and context called the probabilistic cognitive model. This framework combines reasoning about spatial extent of places and the identity of objects and their relationships to one another and to the locations where they appear. This type of reasoning takes into account the context in which objects appear to determine their identity and purpose. The probabilistic cognitive model combines a mapping system called OmniMapper with a conditional random field probabilistic model for context representation. The conditional random field models the dependencies between location and identity in a real-world domestic environment. This model is used by mobile robot systems to predict the effects of their actions during autonomous object search tasks in unknown environments.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX179937.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-118).

Not available / text

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published_or_final_version / Mathematics / Master / Master of Philosophy

No description available.

Author's `Characterization of subgradients: 1` (31 leaves) in pocket / Bibliography: leaves 229-231 / 231 leaves : 1 port ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, 1986

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-115). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 108-111).