Learning externally modulated dynamical systems

Abstract

Dynamical Systems (DS) are often used to represent motion, with the advantage of being easy to learn from demonstrations. We present a method to modulate DS depending on an external signal, extending our previous work on Locally Modulated DS (LMDS [1]). We present two applications of our system, which would not have been possible to achieve without taking external sensing into account in the DS motion formulation. The first application is a task of localization and grasping of objects, using our previous work on compliant tactile exploration. We successfully localize and grasp objects whose position is unknown, using touch in a simulated environment. In the second application, we teach a robot how to react to collisions in order to navigate between obstacles while reaching.