LAUSR

This report summarizes the focus of research conducted by Prof. Krishna Kaipa at the Collaborative Robotics and Adaptive Machines (CRAM) Laboratory, Old Dominion University. Collaboration between agents manifests in diverse domains in nature, ranging from social insect colonies to human societies. Borrowing inspiration from this phenomenon, the overarching theme of research in CRAM Lab lies in investigating the role of collaboration in robotics. The focus is on three canonical structures of collaboration: (1) a populationmodel, (2) a teacher–studentmodel, and (3) a human–robotmodel. Thesemodels borrow insights from diverse fields like swarm intelligence, developmental psychology, cognitive robotics, and human–robot collaboration. The goal is to combine new insights from these fields to realize collaborative robots that cater to strategic areas – manufacturing and assistive robotics – of national interest. Long-term scientific goals lie in using the resulting robotic and computing models to understand the mechanisms of embodied cognition at closer resolutions. A summary of past work carried out by Dr. Kaipa during his doctoral and postdoctoral studies, which guide the current research directions at CRAM Lab is given below.