Is Model-Based Robot Programming a Mirage? A Brief Survey of AI Reasoning in Robotics

Abstract

Researchers in AI and Robotics have in common the desire to “make robots intelligent”, evidence of which can be traced back to the earliest AI systems. One major contribution of AI to Robotics is the model-centered approach, whereby intelligence is the result of reasoning in models of the world which can be changed to suit different environments, physical capabilities, and tasks. Dually, robots have contributed to the formulation and resolution of challenging issues in AI, and are constantly eroding the modeling abstractions underlying AI problem solving techniques. Forty-eight years after the first AI-driven robot, this article provides an updated perspective on the successes and challenges which lie at the intersection of AI and Robotics.