Research Group Cognitive Systems Engineering

Researchers: Dr.Ing. Sebastian Wrede (head), Dipl.-Inform. Raphael Golombek, Dipl.-Math. Michael Götting, Dipl.-Inform. Michael Johannfunke, Dipl.-Inform Stefan Krüger,  Dipl.-Ing Arne Nordmann

Cognitive robotics is an experimental research activity that combines research efforts in mechatronics, informatics and the cognitive sciences. Creating cognitive robots requires building systems that can adapt their behavior to environments that are complex, rapidly changing, and that cannot be completely modeled in preface. Nowadays, many of the resulting challenges can be successfully addressed on the level of individual algorithms or by advanced robotics hardware tuned for specific scenarios.

In order to provide an avenue for robotic systems to become useful in every-day human settings and as a prerequisite for entering the consumer market, these attributes must be ensured on a system level that encompasses the web of skills advanced robots must be capable of. The aim of the cognitive systems engineering group is to investigate software architectures and engineering principles that allow to efficiently integrate, implement and bring together this web of different skills in order to build complex cognitive robotic systems.

A current example for architectural principles that are investigated in this group are so-called memory architectures that provide memory functionality useful across different tasks and scenarios in   order to support learning processes in cognitive systems. Further ongoing activities are concerned with transfer of current concepts of event-driven architectures for efficient software integration or the  exploitation of autonomic computing and anomaly detection concepts for building self-awareness models in order to increase the autonomy and dependability of robotic systems.

The group is involved in different projects within the CoR-Lab and since 2010 also participates in the AMARSi and HUMAVIPS EU FP7 cognitive systems projects. Further activities in 2009 included the organization of a scientific workshop on Event-based Systems for Robotics at IROS09 and the development of an initial cognitive robotics testbed based on the KUKA Light-Weight Robot to demonstrate learning technologies in SME scenarios.

Besides conducting research, the operation of these humanoid robots, the education about research environments (platforms + toolkits) and the maintenance of IT infrastructure are additional responsibilities of this group within the CoR-Lab.