Natural task decomposition with intrinsic potential fields

Any given task can be solved in a number of ways, whether through path-planning, modeling, or control techniques. In this paper, we present a methodology for natural task decomposition through the use of intrinsically meaningful potential fields. Specifically, we demonstrate that using classical conditioning measures in a concurrent control framework provides a domain-general means for solving tasks. Among the conditioning measures we use are manipulability [T. Yoshikawam, 1985], localizability [J. Uppala et al., 2002], and range of motion. To illustrate the value of our approach we demonstrate its applicability to an industrially relevant inspection task.