Advancing Robotics Through Simulation and Modeling

GRAND Seminar 12:00 noon, Nov. 02, Tue., 2010, ENGR 4201

Evan Drumwright
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Computer Science
George Washington University

Abstract:

Modeling the dynamics of robots is a necessary part of robotics. Roboticists use dynamics models for testing robot code, for optimizing robot controllers, and for learning to perform tasks offline, among other purposes. In the broader picture, these same technologies enable animated movies, more realistic computer games, virtual prototyping, and numerous additional applications. While the science behind such dynamic models (i.e., Newton's laws of motion) is relatively simple, simulating models interacting with contact has proven to be surprisingly difficult. I'll explain why that is the case and describe our solutions to the significant problems that we encountered. I will show how our simulator, Moby, is able to simulate robotic scenarios that other systems cannot handle. The presentation will include many videos, including numerous computer animations simulated using Moby.

Bio:

Evan Drumwright is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Drumwright completed his Ph. D. in Robotics at the University of Southern California in 2007. His research interests are in building software to control humanoid and manipulator robots and in dynamic robotic simulation. He collaborates with Honda Research Institute in Mountain View, CA and with Willow Garage in Menlo Park, CA to create better robot simulations toward the goal of getting their robots to perform occupational tasks. Dr. Drumwright also develops the free multibody dynamics simulator Moby (http://physsim.sourceforge.net), which is targeted to simulating the dynamics of manipulator and humanoid robots.