Humane Automation: Yuning Wu’s PhD Dissertation
Towards Humane Automation: An RL-Driven Robotic Framework for Supporting On-Site Construction Workers
PhD-CD candidate Yuning Wu will defend her dissertation on August 21, 10AM. Please see details below.
Title
A Human-Centered Reinforcement Learning Driven Robotic Framework for Assisting Construction Workers
Date
August 21, 2024, 10 am – 12:15 pm
Location (Virtual)
Please contact Alison Petrucci (apetrucc@cmu.edu) for access info.
Abstract
This research explores how robots can be designed to support, rather than replace, labor-intensive tasks in construction. It develops a robotic framework leveraging Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms, encompassing robot hardware prototyping, unstructured site perception, worker detection and tracking, hierarchical motion planning, and contextualized RL training. Realized as a “work companion robot” for carpentry workers, the framework is tested in both lab and real construction sites. Key contributions include a practical RL-driven robot for tool/material delivery and worker-robot interaction, a modular and lightweight system with tailored control and sensory packages, a comprehensive perception architecture for navigating unstructured environments, a hierarchical motion planning stack that integrates RL based and search-based path planning, and a contextual RL fine tuning pipeline for social navigation around workers. This robotic framework lays a technical foundation for future research into robotically supported collaborative work, advancing the field of computational design, robotics, and AI/ML by integrating advanced robotics into real-world construction contexts with a focus on human-centered support.
Author
Yuning Wu, PhD Candidate in Computational Design
Thesis Committee
Dr. Daniel Cardoso Llach (Advisor)
Associate Professor, Computational Design Track Chair
School of Architecture
Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Jean Oh (Co-advisor)
Associate Research Professor
Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University
Dr. Jieliang (Rodger) Luo
Principal AI Research Scientist
Autodesk Research, AI Lab
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