Learn how to apply artificial intelligence, engineering, and machine learning to create smart robots capable of interacting with their environment, engaging with users, making decisions, and navigating autonomously

Key Features

• Gain a holistic understanding of robot design, systems engineering, and task analysis
• Implement AI/ML techniques to detect and manipulate objects and navigate robots using landmarks
• Integrate voice and natural language interactions to create a digital assistant and artificial personality for your robot

Book Description

Unlock the potential of your robots by enhancing their perception with cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. From neural networks to computer vision, this book equips you with the tools and practical use cases to create truly smart robots.

Starting with robotics basics, robot architecture, control systems, and decision-making theory, this book presents systems-engineering methods to design problem-solving robots with single-board computers. You'll explore object recognition and genetic algorithms to teach your robot to identify and pick up objects, and you'll also harness the power of natural language processing to give your robot a voice. To enhance your robot further, you'll master neural networks to classify and separate objects and navigate autonomously, before advancing to guiding your robot arms using reinforcement learning and genetic algorithms. The book also covers path planning and goal-oriented programming to prioritize your robot's tasks, showing you how to connect all software using Python and ROS 2 for a seamless experience.

By the end of this book, you'll have learned how to transform your robot into a helpful assistant with NLP and give it an artificial personality, ready to tackle real-world tasks and even crack jokes.

What you will learn

• Get started with robotics and AI essentials
• Understand path planning, decision trees, and search algorithms to enhance your robot
• Explore object recognition using neural networks and supervised learning techniques
• Employ genetic algorithms to enable your robot arm to manipulate objects
• Teach your robot to listen using Natural Language Processing through an expert system
• Program your robot in how to avoid obstacles and retrieve objects with machine learning and computer vision
• Apply simulation techniques to give your robot an artificial personality

Who this book is for

This book is for practicing robotics engineers and enthusiasts aiming to advance their skills by applying AI and ML techniques. Students and researchers looking for practical guidance for solving specific problems or approaching a difficult robot design will find this book insightful.

Proficiency in Python programming, familiarity with electronics and wiring, single board computers, Linux-based command-line interface (CLI), and knowledge of AI/ML concepts are required to get started with this book.

Table of Contents

1. The Foundation of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
2. Setting Up Your Robot
3. Conceptualizing the Practical Robot Design Process
4. Recognizing Objects Using Neural Networks and Supervised Learning
5. Picking Up and Putting Away Toys using Reinforcement Learning and Genetic Algorithms
6. Teaching a Robot to Listen
7. Teaching the Robot to Navigate and Avoid Stairs
8. Putting Things Away
9. Giving the Robot an Artificial Personality
10. Conclusions and Reflections
11. Q and A
12. Apendix

About the Author

Francis Govers contributed to the design of over 30 manned and unmanned land, sea, air and space vehicles and is an expert in robotics and autonomy. He is an Air Force veteran, spent 10 years at NASA, was a lead engineer for the International Space Station, was deputy Chief Engineer for the US Army Future Combat Systems, participated in the DARPA Grand Challenge, and managed a Zeppelin airship. He worked on the "Yellow Line" for football and designed telemetry systems for NASCAR and IndyCar. He designed RAMSEE, the robot security guard, as CTO of Gamma 2 Robotics. As a commercial pilot, writer, artist, musician, engineer, race car nut and designer, Francis has a serious addiction to building things that frequently gets him into trouble.

He has published 48 magazine articles and contributed to five books. He received five outstanding achievement awards from NASA, the Explorer Award by the National Space Society, recognition from Scientific American for “World Changing Ideas”, and was recognized by the Vertical Flight Society as a "Titan of Autonomy".

He has been married for 40 years to Carol Govers. They have two children: Jessica, married to Peter, and Corbin, married to Ammie, and five grandchildren - William, Oliver, Amelia, Henry and Rowan. The whole crew loves to travel.