This article presents a model of the use of communication about personal experience or experiences of third parties (gossip) in the context of cooperation. To date, previous research on the effect of gossip on cooperation has focused primarily on the manipulation of reputations. We present a formal model of vicarious information transfer, as a social learning strategy, between (potential) coope...

Thispaper addresses the pursuit-evasion problem ofmainaining surveillance by a pursuer ofan evader in a world populated by polygonal obstacles. This requires the pursur to plan colision-free motions that honor distance constrants imposed by sensor capabilities, while avoiding occlusion of the evader by any obstacle. The paper extends the three-dimensional cellular decomposition ofSchwartz and S...

VIM demonstrates a 3D interactive diagram serving as a radically cooperative user interface to an Underlying Knowledge Base System (UKBS). VIM comprises a Prolog client linked by the In-ternet to a diagram graphics server linked by X/Motif to conventional 2D display hardware. The diagram integrates three concurrent layers of mixed-initiative, direct-manipulation interaction: (i) User-UKBS dialo...

The exact dynamics of N two-level atoms coupled to a common electromagnetic bath and closely located inside a lossy cavity is reported. Stationary radiation trapping effects are found and very transparently interpreted in the context of our approach. We prove that initially injecting one excitation only in the N atoms-cavity system, loss mechanisms asymptotically drive the matter sample toward ...

This paper presents a methodology for modeling the coordination of multi robot teams in the execution of cooperative tasks The main idea is to use hybrid systems theory in order to model the cooperation Basically during the execution of the task each robot can be in one of several discrete states called roles being controlled by di erent dynamic equations in each role The coordination of the te...

In this paper we address the problem of transporting objects with multiple mobile robots using the concept of “object closure”. In contrast to other manipulation techniques that are typically derived from form or force closure constraints, object closure requires the less stringent condition that the object be trapped or caged by the robots. Our basic goal in this paper is to develop decentrali...

We describe a distributed and collaborative environment for cooperative scientiic problem solving. SHASTRA is a highly extensible, distributed and collaborative design and scientiic manipulation environment. At its core is a powerful collaboration substrate { to support synchronous multiuser applications, and a distribution substrate { which emphasizes distributed problem solving. The design of...

We present the design and implementation of a visionbased system for micron-scale, cooperative manipulation of a surgical tool. The system is based on a control algorithm that implements a broad class of guidance modes called virtual xtures. A virtual xture, like a real xture, limits the motion of a tool to a prescribed class or range. The implemented system uses vision as a sensor for providin...

We present a distributed planar object manipulation algorithm inspired by human behavior. The system, which we call pusher-watcher, enables the cooperative manipulation of large objects by teams of autonomous mobile robots. The robots are not equipped with gripping devices, but instead move objects by pushing against them. The pusher robots have no global positioning information, and cannot see...

discusses the basic to ts to operate in hu V i accomplishing both and human-guided tasks. These capabilities are key to many new emerging robotic applications in service, construction, field, undenuater, and space. An important characteristic of these robots is the “assistance” ability they can bring to humans in performing various physical tasks. To interact with humans and operate in their en...