Lecture

The “AI-powered and Cognition-enabled Robotics” textbook represents a novel approach to education in the field of cognitive robotics. This interactive textbook is designed to offer an immersive learning experience, uniquely combining theoretical knowledge with practical application. It features video lectures from world-leading experts on various topics within the domain, providing students with first-class insights into the subject matter. Additionally, the textbook includes exercises that can be conducted within virtual research laboratories, utilizing open-source cutting-edge research software to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Students also have direct access to a wealth of resources and background material through a learning hub, enhancing their study and research capabilities. Currently in its early stages, the textbook offers an introductory chapter as a glimpse into its comprehensive educational approach, setting a new standard for academic resources in cognitive robotics.

The lecture course ”Robot Programming with ROS” offers an immersive and practical approach to learning the intricacies of programming robots using the Robot Operating System (ROS). Set within the innovative context of virtual research building laboratories, this course provides students with a unique opportunity to apply theoretical concepts in a simulated real-world environment. The course materials, including exercise sheets and programming environments, are readily accessible on GitHub, allowing students to dive into practical, hands-on exercises that significantly enhance their learning experience. This deliberate integration of practical examples into the curriculum is designed to seamlessly connect theoretical knowledge with real-world application, equipping students with the necessary skills and confidence to tackle the challenges of robot programming in various professional settings. Through this course, learners are not just exposed to the fundamentals of ROS but are also prepared to navigate and innovate within the evolving landscape of robotics technology.

The lecture course ”Actionable Knowledge Representation” delves into the sophisticated realm of making abstract knowledge actionable in the perception-action loops of robot agents. The course utilizes the advanced resources of the AICOR virtual research building. This includes leveraging the comprehensive knowledge bases of the KnowRob system, the interactive capabilities of the web-based knowledge service openEASE, and the practical scenarios provided by virtual robot laboratories. The course is designed to explore the methodologies of representing knowledge in a form that is both machine-understandable and actionable, focusing on the acquisition of knowledge from diverse sources such as web scraping and the integration of various knowledge segments. It addresses the critical aspects of reasoning about knowledge and demonstrates how this knowledge can be utilized by different agents — ranging from websites and AR applications to robots — to assist users in their daily activities. The practical component of the course is facilitated through platform-independent Jupyter notebooks based on Python, ensuring accessibility and minimal software requirements for all participants. With course materials hosted on GitHub, students are provided with an accessible and comprehensive learning experience that bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge representation concepts and their practical applications in enhancing daily life through technology.