William G. Kennedy

 

 

Captain, United States Navy (Reserve Component) (Ret.), July 2002 (30 years)

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Retired, July 2005 (35 years)

 

Office:   Naval Research Laboratory, Code 5515

              Naval Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence

              4255 Overlook Ave. SW

              Washington, DC 20375-3775

              Office phone: (202) 767-3349

  e-mail  Bill.Kennedy@NRL.Navy.mil

or Kennedy@MLLab.com                                                                                      Check e-mail here

 

Research Positions

 

            National Research Council Associate (post-doc) at the Naval Research Laboratory.  Mentor: Greg Trafton, Ph.D.

Associate External Research Professor, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, George Mason University.

 

Research Interests

 

Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence: the nature and characteristics of long-term, symbolic learning, using Soar, ACT-R, and applied to cognitive robotics and the human-robot interactions.

 

Research Projects

 

The Nature of Long-Term, Symbolic Learning.  The goal of this basic research is to understand the nature and characteristics of long-term, symbolic learning and create a computational cognitive theory of long-term symbolic learning that does not suffer from the Utility Problem. 

 

Expand NRL’s Work in Cognitive Robotics and Human-Robot Interactions (HRI):

 

Cognitively-plausible Spatial Reasoning.  The goal of this research is to develop a computational model of spatial reasoning that is cognitively-plausible.  We are extending the ACT-R cognitive architecture by adding a spatial reasoning module that uses a symbolic spatial representation including:  a 2D, cognitive map; tracking of a target’s movement;  and projection of target’s future motion.  We have integrated this spatial representation and reasoning with multi-modal HRI (speech and gesture) on StealthBot, a robot that attempts to covertly approach a moving target while working with a teammate.

 

Simulating Teammates, the Robot’s Shared Mental Model (SMM), and a Robotic Theory of Mind (TOM).  Develop a computational theory of teamwork; add the ability of a robot to simulate and have a TOM for its teammates; and maintain a situational awareness of a robot’s teammates including a SMM that supports what the robot expects a teammate would do in a situation based on what the robot itself would do under those circumstances.  TeamBot has these capabilities and will be compared to human performance data.

 

Recent Publications

 

    Artificial Intelligence or Cognitive Science:                                                       

 

Kennedy, W.G., Bugajska, M.D., Adams, W., Schultz, A.C., and Trafton, J.G. (in press) Incorporating Mental Simulation for a More Effective Robotic Teammate, Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI 2008). Chicago, IL:  AAAI Press. 

 

Kennedy, W.G. and Trafton, J.G. (2007) Long-term Symbolic Learning, Cognitive Systems Research 8(3), September 2007 (pp 237-247). Elsevier. 

 

Kennedy, W.G., Bugajska, M.D., Marge, M., Fransen, B.R., Adams, W., Perzanowski, D., Schultz, A.C., and Trafton, J.G. (2007)  Spatial Representation and Reasoning for Human-Robot Interaction, Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI 2007) (pp 1554-1559). Vancouver, Canada:  AAAI Press. 

 

Kennedy, W.G. and Trafton, J.G. (2007)  Using Simulations to Model Shared Mental ModelsProceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (pp 253-254). Ann Arbor, MI: Taylor & Francis/Psychology Press.

   

Kennedy, W.G. and Trafton, J.G. (2006) Long-term Learning in Soar and ACT-R, Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Cognitive Modeling (pp 162-168). Trieste, Italy: Edizioni Goliardiche.

 

Kennedy, W.G. and De Jong, K.A. (2003) Characteristics of Long-Term Learning in Soar and its Application to the Utility Problem, Proceedings of the Twentieth International Conference on Machine Learning (pp 337-344). Washington, DC: AAAI Press.

 

    Government or Performance-Based Management:

 

Kennedy, W.G. (2007) “Energy, the Big Picture”, presentation for NRL’s Postdoctoral Consortium, 20 June 2007.  (also available with speaker’s notes here)

 

Kennedy, W.G. (2006) Policy as a Separate Level for Performance Management, presentation at The Atlanta Conference on Science and Technology Policy 2006, Atlanta, Georgia, May 18-20, 2006.

 

Kennedy, W.G. (2005) Different Levels of Performance Measures for Different Uses (The “PPP Proposal”), presentation at Evaluation 2005: Crossing Boarders, Crossing Boundaries, Joint Canadian Evaluation Society/American Evaluation Association Conference, Toronto, Canada, October 26-29, 2005.

 

Links:

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Performance-Based Management

Stratford Karate

Pirates

___________________

“My Little Lab”

www.MLLab.com

Updated 16 April 2008