Abstract: A method for controlling a robot device. The method includes: providing demonstrations for movements of the robot device, wherein each demonstration demonstrates dynamics of the robot device by indicating a sequence of states of the robot device in an ambient space; encoding states of the robot device which the robot device traverses in the demonstrations to encoded states in a latent space by an encoding function which maps states from the ambient space to the latent space; determining a vector field in the latent space representing the demonstrated dynamics; generating a reshaped vector field by reshaping the vector field in the latent space; generating a vector field in the ambient space by mapping the reshaped vector field to ambient space according to the decoding function and controlling the robot device to follow the generated vector field in ambient space.

Abstract: A method for controlling a technical system. The method includes determining an initial control sequence comprising control information for each control time of a sequence of control times, determining value approximation parameters for approximating the value of a state of the technical system and determining, for each control time, an updated control sequence comprising updated control information for each control time by determining the updated values such that the values of the states of the state sequence which the technical system follows when being controlled according to the updated control sequence are maximized according to the value approximation parameters and controlling the technical system according to the updated control sequence.

Abstract: A method of controlling a robotic device. The method includes generating a robot control model for performing a task, wherein the robot control model comprises parameters which influence the performance of the task, adjusting the parameters of the robot control model by optimizing a target function which evaluates the adherence to at least one condition with respect to the temporal progression of at least one continuous sensor signal when performing the task, and controlling the robotic device according to the robot control model in order to perform the task using the adjusted parameters.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robot. The method includes determining, for each robotic pose of a plurality of predetermined robot trajectories, a respective embedding in an embedding space having the structure of a hyperbolic manifold by searching an optimum of an objective function which incites, for each of the predetermined robot trajectories, the embeddings of the robotic poses of the predetermined robot trajectory to follow pre-defined dynamics of the embedding space, determining, for a starting pose from which the robot is to be controlled, a start embedding in the embedding space (, and, for a desired end pose, an end embedding in the embedding space and a geodesic between the start embedding and the end embedding according to a pullback metric of the embedding space and controlling the robot according to a sequence of robotic poses given by the determined geodesic.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robotic device, in which a composite robot trajectory model made up of robot trajectory models of the movement skills is generated for a sequence plan for a task to be carried out by the robot including a sequence of movement skills and primitive actions to be carried out, and the robot is controlled, if after one movement skill according to the sequence plan one or multiple primitive action(s) is/are to be executed before the next movement skill, by interrupting the control of the robot according to the composite robot trajectory model after carrying out the movement skill, and by executing the one or multiple primitive action(s) and then resuming the control of the robot according to the composite robot trajectory model.

Abstract: A method for controlling a technical system. The method includes determining an initial control sequence comprising control information for each control time of a sequence of control times, determining value approximation parameters for approximating the value of a state of the technical system and determining, for each control time, an updated control sequence comprising updated control information for each control time by determining the updated values such that the values of the states of the state sequence which the technical system follows when being controlled according to the updated control sequence are maximized according to the value approximation parameters and controlling the technical system according to the updated control sequence.

Abstract: A method for optimizing a predefined policy for a robot, the policy being a Gaussian mixture model. The method begins with an initialization of a Gaussian process, the Gaussian process including at least one kernel k which, as an input parameter, obtains a distance that is ascertained between probability distributions, which are characterized in each case by the Gaussian mixture model and the Gaussian process, according to the probability product kernel. This is followed by an optimization of the Gaussian process in such a way that it predicts the costs as a function of the parameters of the Gaussian mixture model. This is followed by an ascertainment of optimal parameters of the Gaussian mixture model as a function of the Gaussian process, the parameters being selected, as a function of the Gaussian process, in such a way that the Gaussian process outputs the optimal cost function.

Abstract: A method of controlling a robotic device. The method includes generating a robot control model for performing a task, wherein the robot control model comprises parameters which influence the performance of the task, adjusting the parameters of the robot control model by optimizing a target function which evaluates the adherence to at least one condition with respect to the temporal progression of at least one continuous sensor signal when performing the task, and controlling the robotic device according to the robot control model in order to perform the task using the adjusted parameters.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robot using control parameter values from a non-Euclidean control parameter space. The method includes performing a Bayesian optimization of an objective function representing a desired control objective of the robot over the control parameter space, wherein evaluation points of the objective function are determined by searching an optimum of an acquisition function in an iterative search. In each iteration, the following are performed: updating a candidate evaluation point using a search direction in the tangent space of the parameter space at the candidate evaluation point, mapping the updated candidate evaluation point from the tangent space to the parameter space, and using the mapped updated candidate evaluation point as evaluation point for a next iteration until a stop criterion is fulfilled, and controlling the robot in accordance with a control parameter value found in the Bayesian optimization.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robotic device. The method includes providing demonstrations for carrying out a skill by the robot, each demonstration including a robot pose, an acting force as well as an object pose for each point in time of a sequence of points in time, ascertaining an attractor demonstration for each demonstration, training a task-parameterized robot trajectory model for the skill based on the attractor trajectories and controlling the robotic device according to the task-parameterized robot trajectory model.

Abstract: A method for planning a manipulation task of an agent, particularly a robot. The method includes: learning a number of manipulation skills wherein a symbolic abstraction of the respective manipulation skill is generated; determining a concatenated sequence of manipulation skills selected from the number of learned manipulation skills based on their symbolic abstraction so that a given goal specification indicating a given complex manipulation task is satisfied; and executing the sequence of manipulation skills.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robotic device, in which a composite robot trajectory model made up of robot trajectory models of the movement skills is generated for a sequence plan for a task to be carried out by the robot including a sequence of movement skills and primitive actions to be carried out, and the robot is controlled, if after one movement skill according to the sequence plan one or multiple primitive action(s) is/are to be executed before the next movement skill, by interrupting the control of the robot according to the composite robot trajectory model after carrying out the movement skill, and by executing the one or multiple primitive action(s) and then resuming the control of the robot according to the composite robot trajectory model.

Abstract: A method for optimizing a predefined policy for a robot, the policy being a Gaussian mixture model. The method begins with an initialization of a Gaussian process, the Gaussian process including at least one kernel k which, as an input parameter, obtains a distance that is ascertained between probability distributions, which are characterized in each case by the Gaussian mixture model and the Gaussian process, according to the probability product kernel. This is followed by an optimization of the Gaussian process in such a way that it predicts the costs as a function of the parameters of the Gaussian mixture model. This is followed by an ascertainment of optimal parameters of the Gaussian mixture model as a function of the Gaussian process, the parameters being selected, as a function of the Gaussian process, in such a way that the Gaussian process outputs the optimal cost function.

Abstract: A device for and method of operating a machine. The method includes providing a sequence of skills of the machine for executing a task, selecting a sequence of states from a plurality of sequences of states, depending on a likelihood, wherein the likelihood is determined depending on a transition probability from a final state of a first sub-sequence of states of the sequence of states for a first skill in the sequence of skills to an initial state of a second sub-sequence of states of the sequence of states for a second skill in the sequence of skills.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robot using control parameter values from a non-Euclidean original control parameter space. The method includes performing a Bayesian optimization of an objective function representing a desired control objective of the robot over the original control parameter space; and controlling the robot in accordance with a control parameter value from the original control parameter space found in the Bayesian optimization. The Bayesian optimization includes: Transforming the original control parameter space to a reduced control parameter space using the observed control parameter values, the original control parameter space comprises a first number of dimensions, the reduced control parameter space comprises a second number of dimensions, and the first number of dimensions is higher than the second number of dimensions; Determining an evaluation point of the objective function in the reduced control parameter space by searching an optimum of an acquisition function in an iterative search.

Abstract: A method for controlling a robot using control parameter values from a non-Euclidean control parameter space. The method includes performing a Bayesian optimization of an objective function representing a desired control objective of the robot over the control parameter space, wherein evaluation points of the objective function are determined by searching an optimum of an acquisition function in an iterative search. In each iteration, the following are performed: updating a candidate evaluation point using a search direction in the tangent space of the parameter space at the candidate evaluation point, mapping the updated candidate evaluation point from the tangent space to the parameter space, and using the mapped updated candidate evaluation point as evaluation point for a next iteration until a stop criterion is fulfilled, and controlling the robot in accordance with a control parameter value found in the Bayesian optimization.

Abstract: A robot device controller including a memory configured to store a statistical model trained to implement a behaviour of the robot device, one or more processors configured to determine a nominal trajectory represented by the statistical model, determine an expected force experienced by the robot device when the robot device is controlled to move in accordance with the nominal trajectory, determine a measured force experienced by the robot device when the robot device is controlled to move in accordance with the nominal trajectory and adapt the statistical model based on a reduction of the difference between the measured force and the expected force.

Abstract: A method for planning a manipulation task of an agent, particularly a robot. The method includes: learning a number of manipulation skills wherein a symbolic abstraction of the respective manipulation skill is generated; determining a concatenated sequence of manipulation skills selected from the number of learned manipulation skills based on their symbolic abstraction so that a given goal specification indicating a given complex manipulation task is satisfied; and executing the sequence of manipulation skills.

Abstract: A robot device controller including a memory configured to store a statistical model trained to implement a behaviour of the robot device, one or more processors configured to determine a nominal trajectory represented by the statistical model, determine an expected force experienced by the robot device when the robot device is controlled to move in accordance with the nominal trajectory, determine a measured force experienced by the robot device when the robot device is controlled to move in accordance with the nominal trajectory and adapt the statistical model based on a reduction of the difference between the measured force and the expected force.