Astro is intended to be so much more than just an attention-getter, he is intended to be a superhero.
Using deep learning and artificial intelligence, scientists from Florida Atlantic University are bringing to life one of about a handful of these dog-like quadruped robots into the world. Astro is unique from the other robot dogs because he is the only one of them with a head, 3D printed to resemble a Doberman pinscher, that contains a computerized brain.
Astro not only resembles a dog, but he learns like one too. That’s because he doesn’t operate based on preprogrammed robotic automation. Instead, Astro utilizes a deep neural network – a computerized simulation of a brain – so that he can learn from experience through a process of trial and error, to perform tasks that can benefit humanity.
Features
What makes Astro so special, is the set of Nvidia Jetson TX2 graphics processing units contained within its Doberman pinscher-inspired, 3D-printed head. These give the robot a combined four teraflops of computing power, which amounts to about four trillion computations a second. Furthermore, with the help of onboard sensors including a high-tech radar imaging module, cameras, and a directional microphone, the 100-Ib robot is able to interpret voice commands, make sense of its surroundings and make autonomous behavioral decisions.
Capabilities
So far, Astro is able to respond to basic commands such as “sit,” “stand” and “lie down.” Once developed further and equipped with additional sensors it could do so much more. The robot will be outfitted with more than a dozen sensors that will consume environmental input across multiple modalities including optical, sound, gas and even radar.
Listed below are some of the future capabilities the Astro robo-dog will provide:
- Detection of guns, explosives, and gun residue
- Guiding the blind
- Medical diagnostic monitoring
- Exploring hazardous environments
- Assisting soldiers on the battlefield
- The ability to search through thousands of faces in a database
- Sniff out and identify airborne substances
- Ability to navigate through extreme rough terrains
- Able to hear distress calls that are inaudible to humans
- Serving as a first responder for search and rescue missions such as hurricane reconnaissance
- Detect different colors
- Ability to comprehend many languages
- Coordinate his efforts with drones
FAU’s Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotic Lab (MPCR) team will program Astro to have an extensive database of experiences that he can draw upon to help him make immediate decisions on the go.
Creators
The Astro project is being led by Elan Barenholtz, Ph.D., an Assoc. professor in FAU’s Department of Psychology, co-director of FAU’s MPCR laboratory, a member of FAU’s Brain Institute (I-BRAIN), one of the university’s four research pillars; William Hahn, Ph.D., an Asst. professor in FAU’s Department of Mathematical Sciences and co-director of FAU’s MPCR laboratory; Pedram Nimreezi, director of intelligent software in FAU’s MPCR laboratory, and chief technology officer for RedGage; along with the help of some high school students and undergraduate and graduate students at FAU.
Ata Sarajedini, Ph.D., dean of FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science said:
Our Machine Perception and Cognitive Robotics laboratory team was sought out by Drone Data’s Astro Robotics group because of their extensive expertise in cognitive neuroscience, which includes behavioral, neurophysiological and embedded computational approaches to studying the brain. Astro is inspired by the human brain and he has come to life through machine learning and artificial intelligence, which is proving to be an invaluable resource in helping to solve some of the world’s most complex problems.
You can watch the robot in action, in the following video:
