Robotics Researchers Focus on Teamwork: Teaching robots to communicate and respond to each other could lead to the automation of more-complex work

"At a typical Amazon fulfillment center, thousands of robots work alongside people, doing a variety of jobs. A robot arm helps pick ordered items from shelves and loads them onto a mobile robot. The mobile robot rolls through the warehouse, delivering items to human employees who organize the items into orders. After the orders are packaged, yet another robot arm puts them on a robotic carrier to be shipped out for delivery.

This complicated choreography works because of sophisticated software, developed by Amazon, that tells the human workers and robots where to go and what to do to ensure they are collaborating efficiently. The robotic systems also communicate with each other on the ground, preventing backups and bottlenecks.

"The majority of the software is like a traffic controller," says Tye Brady, chief technologist for Amazon Robotics. "The movement of these robots is very coordinated and thought through at a system level."

It isn't unusual to find robots doing jobs in factories, warehouses and elsewhere these days. But if the goal is to automate more-complex tasks, and do so efficiently, researchers say groups of autonomous robots will need to be able to communicate, cooperate and respond to each other and their environment in ways many of them can't today.

Scientists have been studying how to get multiple robots to work together for decades. While most of the technology is still in the research stage, multirobot systems like the ones at Amazon fulfillment centers are starting to be deployed in the real world. 

And if the research continues to advance, researchers say these systems could be deployed in a variety of new settings -- from search-and-rescue missions where robots on the ground coordinate with drones above, to autonomous-driving situations, to space exploration.

There are different types of multirobot systems with varying levels of autonomy.

Swarm robots, for example, are designed to move together without colliding, but have limited or no ability to divvy up jobs or tasks. Researchers say swarm robotics holds promise for things like surveillance or search and rescue, where getting multiple robots to film the same area might be helpful. In other, more advanced systems, robots can move independently of each other and split up tasks -- say, prepping orders for delivery, as in the case of Amazon -- with the help of a centralized leader, either a human or software. In still other setups being studied but that remain further off, humans would assign robots an objective and the robots, using AI, would decide among themselves the best way to achieve it.

As robot systems are given more agency, the complications increase, scientists say. One big challenge is communication -- not only how to do it, but what information is necessary to share out of potentially millions of data points being created at any moment.

Each robot in a multirobot system must be aware of the other's actions and goals to avoid collisions and optimize performance. This requires developing effective communication and coordination algorithms, according to Michael Wooldridge, a professor of computer science at the University of Oxford.

"A huge amount of research has gone to try to understand the protocols that robots might use for information sharing," says Prof. Wooldridge. "Who needs to know what, when and if they have to dynamically organize themselves into teams, and who gets to be the boss and organize the others or what roles do they play? These are all extremely difficult challenges."

Expense is another challenge. The investment associated with multirobot systems likely will limit their use to companies that can afford the upfront costs, maintenance and replacement if one or more of the robots in the collective is damaged. On the other hand, multirobot systems could improve efficiency, because if one robot in the group malfunctions, others with similar capabilities could step in and finish the job.

"There could be the option of heterogeneous teams instead of relying on one single very expensive robot that can do everything," says Alyssa Pierson, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Boston University. "Can we divide up all the sensors on that robot into multiple cheaper robots that maybe the risk of failure is a little bit higher, but the cost of failure is lower?"

According to Prof. Wooldridge, some of the most significant leaps for multirobot systems have come from RoboCup, an annual competition started by researchers in 1997 in which teams of robots compete in soccer.

RoboCup's stated goal is to develop a team of fully autonomous robot soccer players capable of beating a human team by 2050. Peter Stone, a computer-science professor at the University of Texas at Austin who recently served as the group's president, says the goal is analogous to IBM's DeepBlue beating human champion Garry Kasparov at chess and AlphaGo beating Lee Sedol at Go, an ancient board game. "We want to do that for soccer," Prof. Stone says. "To do it, you have to solve some really important technical challenges that are going to have wide-ranging implications."

One RoboCup league features autonomous robots with humanlike bodies and humanlike senses. Early on, the robots struggled to move quickly, stop suddenly or change direction without falling over. The league used an orange ball to make it easier to see, but even so, it was difficult for the robots' cameras and algorithms to detect it reliably from a distance. These days, the league uses a small black-and-white ball, and the robots have no problem seeing it. They can move with ease while scoring multiple goals, all while maintaining an understanding of where the ball and other players are on the field.

Researchers say one focus of the past decade has been on ad hoc teamwork, or giving autonomous agents the ability to cooperate with team members they have never played with before -- in much the same way human strangers might do after gathering for a pickup soccer game.

"People are really good at quickly assessing what are the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates," Prof. Stone says. " As we get toward more long-term autonomy agents that are turned on and operational for long periods, they're going to come across people or other agents that they weren't programmed to cooperate or interact with, and they need to figure out how to do it anyway."

Some of those implications could be essential in disaster rescue scenarios, according to Prof. Stone. Eventually, for example, robots capable of ad hoc teamwork could converge on the site of a building collapse, and seamlessly start collaborating on the search effort without having to be networked together.

There are many other areas where advances in multirobot systems are expected to be critical to success.

For autonomous driving to take off, for example, self-driving cars from different companies need to be able to communicate and respond to each other, as well as the environment around them, including things like road hazards and traffic signals.

There are some difficult challenges with autonomous cars that make them unique among multirobot systems, according to Mac Schwager, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University. Most important is the risk to human life if an error occurs. On the other hand, information sharing among networked cars about things like road hazards or accidents could lead to improved highway safety, he says.

"The vehicle network can alert the neighborhood of other vehicles about impending dangers or things that they see that may not be evident to the other vehicles," Prof. Schwager says.

Such a vehicle-to-vehicle network doesn't yet exist, researchers say, and can't be built without better internet coverage from 5G networks.

Space exploration is another area where multirobot systems will play a critical role, says Danette Allen, NASA's senior leader for autonomous systems.

One major need will be in the Artemis program, which plans to re-establish a human presence on the moon and expects to rely heavily on multirobot systems for everything from landing to building structures on the lunar surface. These robots will be asked to do things that aren't safe for humans and have to be resilient, Dr. Allen says. And even with extensive research and planning, robots will be thrust into situations with each other they weren't prepared for and have to react.

"They can't throw up their metaphorical arms and give up," Dr. Allen says. "We need them to think and behave more like humans when they experience a novel situation and come up with a creative solution."" [1]

1. C-Suite Strategies (A Special Report) --- Robotics Researchers Focus on Teamwork: Teaching robots to communicate and respond to each other could lead to the automation of more-complex work
Snow, Jackie.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 17 Apr 2023: R.10.

 

 

Kas daro puikią stažuotę įmonėms ir praktikantams: darbdaviai turėtų galvoti apie tai kaip apie galimus ilgalaikius santykius, o ne vasaros nuotykį

„Daugelis įmonių vasaros stažuotes naudoja, kaip įdarbinimo trampliną. Tačiau jos ne visada gerai atlieka savo darbą, siekdamos užtikrinti, kad jų programos duotų didelę naudą praktikantams ir įmonei.

 

     Tai padaryti gali būti ypač svarbu dabar, esant įtemptai darbo rinkai, kur samdyti iš gatvės yra sudėtinga. Ekspertai teigia, kad norint, kad stažuotės būtų sėkmingos, stažuotės turi būti struktūrizuotos taip, kad stažuotojai, įdarbinti, būtų tinkami darbuotojai. Tačiau jie taip pat turėtų užtikrinti, kad praktikantai daug išmoktų, gerai praleistų laiką ir susidarytų gerą įspūdį apie įmonę. Galų gale, net jei jie nėra įdarbinami iš karto, jie gali grįžti į įmonę vėliau, kai bus labiau patyrę. Veiksminga programa taip pat gali užtikrinti, kad įmonei būtų naudinga nauja perspektyva.

 

     "Pagalvokite apie stažuotes, kaip, pavyzdžiui, pasimatymus. Ar įmonė ieško vieno pasimatymo ar ilgalaikių santykių?" sako Jennifer Deal, USC Maršalo verslo mokyklos Efektyvių organizacijų centro vyresnioji mokslo darbuotoja. „Jei pastarasis supras, kad praktikantas turės jaustis vertinamas, gauti tai, ko trokšta (pavyzdžiui, atitinkamos patirties) ir jaustis taip, tarsi įmonėje jiems būtų ateitis, antraip nesulauksite antro pasimatymo, jau nekalbant apie ilgalaikius darbuotojų santykius, kurių ieškote“.

 

     Štai septyni sėkmingų santykių ingredientai.

 

     Nustatykite pagrįstus lūkesčius

 

     Kai kurios įmonės pateikia milžiniškus pardavimo pasiūlymus, o ne padeda stažuotojams suprasti, ką jie iš tikrųjų ketina daryti, sako Robertas Kelley, išskirtinis Carnegie Mellon universiteto Tepper verslo mokyklos vadybos profesorius. Kartais vadinama „gundymo strategija“, vadovai gali nuvesti stažuotojus į prabangius restoranus su aukščiausio lygio vadovu prie kiekvieno stalo arba praleisti vakarus profesionaliuose sporto renginiuose.

 

     Tai palieka įspūdį, kad šie įvykiai reguliariai vyks, kai praktikantai ateis dirbti visą darbo dieną, nors iš tikrųjų tai retai atsitinka. Panašiai vadovai gali pabrėžti, pavyzdžiui, kaip smagu ten dirbti, koks įdomus tai darbas arba kaip glaudūs visi organizacijos nariai. Tačiau jie neatitinka tikroviškų lūkesčių dėl kasdienio darbo.

 

     „Rah-rah“ metodas reiškia, kad stažuotojai negali priimti pagrįstų sprendimų, ar tai jiems būtų gera proga. Būdami tiesmukiški, taip pat gali padidinti tikimybę, kad stažuotojai priims darbą įmonėje pasibaigus stažuotei, be to, tai gali lemti geresnį ilgalaikį išlaikymą.

 

     Dr. Kelley atkreipia dėmesį į 1988 m. atliktą tyrimą, kuriame nustatyta, kad JAV armijos naujokų, kuriems buvo suteiktas tikslesnis vaizdas apie teigiamus ir neigiamus darbo aspektus, karinėje karjeroje buvo žymiai mažesnė kaita, nei tų naujokų, kuriems tokia informacija nebuvo suteikta.

 

     Kurti santykius

 

     Robertas J. Khoury, verslo plėtros konsultacinės ir konsultacinės įmonės Čikagoje „Agile Rainmakers“ įkūrėjas ir vadovas, rengia individualius 30 minučių trukmės „Zoom“ pokalbius su kiekvienu praktikantu, kuris priima vasaros pareigas jo įmonėje. Per kelis mėnesius jis užmezga santykius su praktikantu aptardamas tokias temas, kaip mokykla, praktikanto interesai, kas vyksta įmonėje ir kokius projektus praktikantas galėtų dirbti.

 

     „Tai yra 90 minučių investicija per keturis mėnesius, todėl kai stažuotojas pasirodo, jau pažįstate vienas kitą ir jų pomėgius“, – sako J. Khoury. „Tos 90 minučių patirtį pavers auksu“.

 

     Kad kiekviena diena būtų svarbi

 

     Įmonės stažuojasi neilgai, paprastai nuo aštuonių iki 16 savaičių, todėl kiekviena minutė yra svarbi, sako Scottas Redfearnas, pasaulinės konsultacinės įmonės „Protiviti“ pasaulinių žmogiškųjų išteklių vykdomasis viceprezidentas.

 

     Jis rekomenduoja įmonėms kiekvieną savaitę atidžiai apgalvoti, ką jos nori, kad praktikantai pasiektų. Pavyzdžiui, jo įmonėje stažuotojai pirmą savaitę sužino apie organizaciją, jos vertybes ir prioritetus bei kaip stažuotojai įsilieja į komandas. Bendrovė taip pat supažindina praktikantus su lyderiais ir padeda jiems kurti tinklus tarpusavyje.

 

     Artimiausios savaitės yra projektinės. Tada, artėjant stažuotei į pabaigą, įmonė organizuoja tarnybų dieną, kai stažuotojai pasirenka vietinį projektą savanoriauti, kad suprastų, jog labdara yra įmonės kultūros dalis.

 

     Leiskite praktikantams atlikti kelias užduotis

 

     Kolegijos studentai atlieka daug užduočių, todėl jiems skirti vieną projektą visai vasarai yra „kaip mirties nuosprendis“, sako J. Khoury. Atlikdami keletą užduočių, stažuotojai gali išvengti tikimybės, kad jiems bus nuobodu ir nusivylę, kai natūraliai atsiranda prastovos.

 

     Uždarykite skirtukus

 

     Stažuotojams nereikia auklės, bet jiems reikia žmogaus, kuris domisi jų talentų ugdymu, dr. Kelle y sako. Tam asmeniui neturėtų būti skiriamas šis vaidmuo, o turėtų būti kažkas, idealiai artimesnis praktikantų amžiui, kuris norėtų padėti jiems užmegzti ryšius ir ugdyti įgūdžius, o ne tiesiog parodyti, kur yra vonios kambarys. „Čia atsitinka daug neatitikimų“, – sako daktaras Kelley.

 

     Stažuotojai taip pat turi naudos, kai dienos pabaigoje jie registruojasi pas tiesioginį vadovą arba programos koordinatorių, sako Pensilvanijos universiteto Vartono mokyklos Žmogiškųjų išteklių centro direktorius Peteris Cappelli. Tai laikas aptarti, ką jie išmoko tą dieną ir kas buvo mįslinga bei įdomiausia. Stažuotojai vertina praktinį, asmeninį dėmesį ir padeda paaiškinti dalykus, kurių jie gali nesuprasti, ir suvokti bendrą vaizdą, sako jis.

 

     Labai svarbu mokytis iš neišvengiamų klaidų, sako Jessica Schaeffer, nacionalinės personalo atrankos ir įdarbinimo įmonės „LaSalle Network“ viceprezidentė. Ji sako, kad galėtų paprasčiausiai papasakoti apie klaidas, kurias rado pristatymo 3, 7 ir 9 puslapiuose, tačiau ji imasi išsamesnės informacijos, kad tai būtų mokoma akimirka. Ji gali paklausti, pavyzdžiui, kiek kartų praktikantas peržiūrėjo ataskaitą ir ar ji buvo peržiūrėta telefono ekrane, kompiuteryje ar spaudinyje.

 

     „Jie tai labai vertina, o darbdaviui geriausia tai, kad jie daugiau to nedaro ir tai labai palengvina jūsų gyvenimą“, – sako M. Schaeffer.

 

     Padarykite tai tikra

 

     Būtinai skirkite praktikantams įmonei vertingo darbo, sako J. Redfearn. Tikras darbas „leidžia matyti juos veikiant ir suteikia daugiau patirties, pagal kurią gali priimti sprendimą dėl darbo“, – sako jis.

 

     Kita klaida, kurią daro įmonės, yra per daug sureikšminti socialinius stažuotės aspektus, o kasdienius darbo aspektus nepakankamai įvertina. Tai sudaro sąlygas nusivylimui, kai jie pradeda dirbti visą darbo dieną ir nėra įprastai vežami į vakarienės kruizus ar į kitą sudėtingą socialinę veiklą, sako Heidi Brooks, Jeilio vadybos mokyklos organizacinio elgesio vyresnioji lektorė.

 

     Palaikykite ryšį

 

     Įmonės, norinčios padidinti tikimybę, kad stažuotojai grįš dirbti visą darbo dieną, turėtų palaikyti ryšį pasibaigus stažuotei tokiomis priemonėmis kaip internetiniai seminarai su vyresniąja vadovybe ir asmeniniai telefono skambučiai, sako p. Redfearn. „Protiviti“ taip pat siunčia jiems el. laiškus ir kitus atnaujinimus apie tai, kas vyksta įmonėje.

 

     „Jūs turite išlaikyti tą ugnį“, – sako ponas Redfearnas." [1]

1. C-Suite Strategies (A Special Report) --- What Makes a Great Internship for Companies And Interns: Employers should think of this as a potential long-term relationship rather than a summer fling
Cheryl Winokur Munk.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 17 Apr 2023: R.11.

 

What Makes a Great Internship for Companies And Interns: Employers should think of this as a potential long-term relationship rather than a summer fling

"Many companies use summer internships as a springboard for hiring. But they don't always do a good job of making sure their programs deliver big benefits to the interns and the company.

Getting it right can be especially important now, in a tight job market, where hiring off the street is challenging.To be successful, experts say, internships should be structured so interns set off on the right foot to be good employees when hired. But they should also ensure that interns are learning a lot, having a good time and getting a good impression of the company. After all, even if they don't get hired immediately, they may end up circling back to the company later in their careers when they're more seasoned. An effective program can also ensure that the company benefits from a fresh perspective.

"Think about internships like dating. Is the company looking for one date or a long-term relationship?" says Jennifer Deal, senior research scientist at the Center for Effective Organizations at the USC Marshall School of Business. "If the latter, realize that the intern will need to feel valued, get something they desire (like relevant experiences) and feel as if there's a future for them at the company, or you won't get the second date, let alone the long-term employee relationship you're looking for."

Here are seven ingredients to a successful relationship.

Set reasonable expectations

Some companies give giant sales pitches rather than helping interns understand what they are actually going to be doing, says Robert Kelley, distinguished service professor of management at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business. Sometimes referred to as the "seduction strategy," managers might take interns to fancy restaurants with a top executive at each table or have nights out at professional sporting events.

This leaves the impression that these events will be regularly occurring when interns come to work full time, though this seldom actually happens. Similarly, managers might stress, for instance, how much fun it is to work there or how exciting the work is or how close-knit everyone in the organization is. They fall short, however, when it comes to setting realistic expectations about day-to-day work.

The rah-rah approach means that interns can't make informed decisions about whether it could be a good opportunity for them. Being straightforward can also boost the likelihood that interns will accept jobs with the company when the internship is over, and it may also lead to better longer-term retention.

Dr. Kelley points to a 1988 research study that found that recruits for the U.S. Armywho were given a more accurate picture of both the positives and negatives of the job had significantly lower turnover in their military careers than those recruits who were not given such information.

Build a relationship

Robert J. Khoury, founder and chief executive of Agile Rainmakers, a business-development consulting and advisory firm in Chicago, hosts a series of individual 30-minute Zoom conversations with each intern who accepts a summer position at his company. Over several months, he builds a relationship with the intern by discussing topics such as school, the intern's interests, what's happening in the company and what projects the intern might work on.

"It's a 90-minute investment over four months, so when the intern shows up, you already know each other and their interests," says Mr. Khoury. "That 90 minutes will turn the experience into gold."

Make every day count

Companies have interns for a short time, commonly eight to 16 weeks, so every minute counts, says Scott Redfearn, executive vice president of global human resources for the global consulting firm Protiviti.

He recommends companies carefully think through what they want interns to achieve on a week-by-week basis. For instance, at his company, during the first week, interns learn about the organization, its values and priorities, and how interns fit into the teams. The company also gives the interns introductions to leaders and helps them build networks among themselves.

The next few weeks are project-based. Then, toward the end of the internship, the company organizes a day of service where interns pick a local project to volunteer on, so they understand that charity work is part of the company's culture.

Let interns multitask

College students are multitaskers, so giving them one project for the entire summer is "like a death sentence," Mr. Khoury says. With multiple tasks, interns can avoid the likelihood they will be bored and frustrated when there is natural downtime.

Keep close tabs

Interns don't need babysitting, but they do need someone who takes an interest in helping develop their talents, Dr. Kelley says. That person shouldn't have the role foisted upon them, but rather it should be someone, ideally closer in age to the interns, who wants to help them with networking and skill building, as opposed to just showing them where the bathroom is. "A lot of mismatches happen here," Dr. Kelley says.

Interns also benefit when they have an end-of-day check-in with their immediate supervisor or program coordinator, says Peter Cappelli, director of the Center for Human Resources at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. These are a time to discuss what they learned that day, and what was puzzling and most interesting. Interns appreciate the hands-on, personal attention, and it helps explain things to interns they may not understand and to get a sense of the big picture, he says.

Learning from the inevitable mistakes is crucial, says Jessica Schaeffer, vice president of LaSalle Network, a national staffing and recruiting firm. She says she could simply tell them about mistakes she found on pages 3, 7 and 9 of a presentation, but instead she goes into greater detail to make it a teachable moment. She might ask, for example, how many times the intern looked over the report and whether it was reviewed on a phone screen, computer or printout.

"They really appreciate it, and the best thing for the employer is they don't do it again and it makes your life so much easier," Ms. Schaeffer says.

Make it real

Be sure to give interns work that is valuable to the company, Mr. Redfearn says. Real work "lets you see them in action, and it gives them more experience from which to make their job decision," he says.

Another mistake companies make is to overemphasize the social aspects of the internship while underplaying day-to-day work aspects of the job. This sets the stage for disappointment and frustration when they join as a full-time employee and they aren't routinely taken on dinner cruises or to other elaborate social activities, says Heidi Brooks, senior lecturer in organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management.

Stay in touch

Companies that want to increase the chances of the interns returning for full-time work should stay in touch after the internship ends through means such as webinars with senior management and personal phone calls, Mr. Redfearn says. Protiviti also sends them emails and other updates about what's happening within the company.

"You have to keep that fire going," Mr. Redfearn says." [1]

1. C-Suite Strategies (A Special Report) --- What Makes a Great Internship for Companies And Interns: Employers should think of this as a potential long-term relationship rather than a summer fling
Cheryl Winokur Munk.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 17 Apr 2023: R.11.