{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T10:08:46Z","timestamp":1777716526030,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,16]],"date-time":"2014-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1418688000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["The International Journal of Robotics Research"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Robots exhibit flexible behavior largely in proportion to their degree of knowledge about the world. Such knowledge is often meticulously hand-coded for a narrow class of tasks, limiting the scope of possible robot competencies. Thus, the primary limiting factor of robot capabilities is often not the physical attributes of the robot, but the limited time and skill of expert programmers. One way to deal with the vast number of situations and environments that robots face outside the laboratory is to provide users with simple methods for programming robots that do not require the skill of an expert. For this reason, learning from demonstration (LfD) has become a popular alternative to traditional robot programming methods, aiming to provide a natural mechanism for quickly teaching robots. By simply showing a robot how to perform a task, users can easily demonstrate new tasks as needed, without any special knowledge about the robot. Unfortunately, LfD often yields little knowledge about the world, and thus lacks robust generalization capabilities, especially for complex, multi-step tasks. We present a series of algorithms that draw from recent advances in Bayesian non-parametric statistics and control theory to automatically detect and leverage repeated structure at multiple levels of abstraction in demonstration data. The discovery of repeated structure provides critical insights into task invariants, features of importance, high-level task structure, and appropriate skills for the task. This culminates in the discovery of a finite-state representation of the task, composed of grounded skills that are flexible and reusable, providing robust generalization and transfer in complex, multi-step robotic tasks. These algorithms are tested and evaluated using a PR2 mobile manipulator, showing success on several complex real-world tasks, such as furniture assembly.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/0278364914554471","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,16]],"date-time":"2014-12-16T23:19:38Z","timestamp":1418771978000},"page":"131-157","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":147,"title":["Learning grounded finite-state representations from unstructured demonstrations"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"34","author":[{"given":"Scott","family":"Niekum","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, USA"},{"name":"School of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sarah","family":"Osentoski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Robert Bosch Research and Technology Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"George","family":"Konidaris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MIT CSAIL, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sachin","family":"Chitta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bhaskara","family":"Marthi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Vicarious, Union City, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andrew G.","family":"Barto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Computer Science, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-0278364914554471","first-page":"1","author":"Abbeel P","year":"2004","journal-title":"Proceedings of the twenty first international conference on machine learning"},{"key":"bibr2-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/2157689.2157815"},{"key":"bibr3-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.robot.2008.10.024"},{"key":"bibr4-0278364914554471","first-page":"12","author":"Atkeson CG","year":"1997","journal-title":"Proceedings of the fourteenth international conference on machine learning"},{"key":"bibr5-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2010.5651175"},{"key":"bibr6-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-540-30301-5_60"},{"key":"bibr7-0278364914554471","first-page":"574","author":"Bitzer S","year":"2009","journal-title":"9th IEEE-RAS international conference on humanoids"},{"key":"bibr8-0278364914554471","volume-title":"The PR2 workshop: results, challenges and lessons learned in advancing robots with a common platform, IROS","author":"Bollini M","year":"2011"},{"key":"bibr9-0278364914554471","first-page":"20","author":"Boularias A","year":"2011","journal-title":"Proceedings of the 15th international conference on automated planning and scheduling"},{"key":"bibr10-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICHR.2010.5686284"},{"key":"bibr11-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1228716.1228751"},{"key":"bibr12-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2010.5652040"},{"key":"bibr13-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1329125.1329407"},{"key":"bibr14-0278364914554471","first-page":"388","volume":"23","author":"Chiappa S","year":"2010","journal-title":"Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems"},{"key":"bibr15-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1390156.1390175"},{"key":"bibr16-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ROBOT.2004.1308881"},{"key":"bibr17-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICRA.2011.5980530"},{"key":"bibr18-0278364914554471","first-page":"358","author":"Ekvall S","year":"2006","journal-title":"15th IEEE international symposium on robot and human interactive communication"},{"key":"bibr19-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.5772\/5611"},{"key":"bibr20-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/1390156.1390196"},{"key":"bibr21-0278364914554471","first-page":"549","volume":"22","author":"Fox E","year":"2009","journal-title":"Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems"},{"key":"bibr22-0278364914554471","first-page":"1111.4226","author":"Fox E","year":"2011","journal-title":"Preprint"},{"key":"bibr23-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2010.5649990"},{"key":"bibr24-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2010.5650500"},{"key":"bibr25-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ROBOT.2008.4543716"},{"key":"bibr26-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2010.5650500"},{"key":"bibr27-0278364914554471","first-page":"1366","author":"Huber M","year":"1997","journal-title":"Proceedings of the international joint conference on artificial intelligence"},{"key":"bibr28-0278364914554471","first-page":"1547","volume":"16","author":"Ijspeert A","year":"2003","journal-title":"Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems"},{"key":"bibr29-0278364914554471","first-page":"441","author":"Jenkins OC","year":"2004","journal-title":"Proceedings of the twenty-first international conference on machine learning"},{"key":"bibr30-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1142\/S0219843604000186"},{"key":"bibr31-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cviu.2010.08.002"},{"key":"bibr32-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0278364911428653"},{"key":"bibr33-0278364914554471","volume-title":"Proceedings of the twenty-fifth conference on artificial intelligence","author":"Konidaris G","year":"2011"},{"key":"bibr34-0278364914554471","first-page":"1162","volume":"23","author":"Konidaris GD","year":"2010","journal-title":"Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems"},{"key":"bibr35-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/TRO.2009.2026508"},{"key":"bibr36-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/01621459.1951.10500769"},{"key":"bibr37-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-642-33486-3_10"},{"key":"bibr38-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0278364911430417"},{"key":"bibr39-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s10514-011-9261-0"},{"key":"bibr40-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.robot.2004.03.003"},{"key":"bibr41-0278364914554471","first-page":"295","author":"Neu G","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proceedings of the 23rd conference on uncertainty in artificial intelligence"},{"key":"bibr42-0278364914554471","first-page":"663","author":"Ng A","year":"2000","journal-title":"Proceedings of the seventeenth international conference on machine learning"},{"key":"bibr43-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1145\/860575.860614"},{"key":"bibr44-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15607\/RSS.2013.IX.048"},{"key":"bibr45-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/IROS.2012.6386006"},{"key":"bibr46-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-012-0157-8"},{"key":"bibr47-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ROBOT.2009.5152385"},{"key":"bibr48-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICRA.2011.5980200"},{"key":"bibr49-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/HUMANOIDS.2012.6651537"},{"key":"bibr50-0278364914554471","first-page":"365","author":"Pastor P","year":"2011","journal-title":"IEEE\/RSJ international conference on intelligent robots and systems"},{"key":"bibr51-0278364914554471","first-page":"280","author":"Peters J","year":"2005","journal-title":"Proceedings of the 16th European conference on machine learning"},{"key":"bibr52-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ICASSP.1982.1171633"},{"key":"bibr53-0278364914554471","volume-title":"Proceedings of the 20th international joint conference on artificial intelligence","author":"Ramachandran D","year":"2007"},{"key":"bibr54-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.robot.2012.01.002"},{"key":"bibr55-0278364914554471","volume-title":"AAAI conference on artificial intelligence","author":"Rozo L","year":"2013"},{"key":"bibr56-0278364914554471","volume-title":"The international symposium on adaptive motion of animals and machines","author":"Schaal S","year":"2003"},{"key":"bibr57-0278364914554471","first-page":"561","author":"Schaal S","year":"2004","journal-title":"International symposium on robotics research"},{"key":"bibr58-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1109\/ROBOT.2002.1014237"},{"key":"bibr59-0278364914554471","first-page":"1142","volume-title":"Proceedings of the IEEE international conference on robotics and automation","author":"Tang J","year":"2010"},{"key":"bibr60-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1198\/016214506000000302"},{"key":"bibr61-0278364914554471","volume-title":"Proceedings of the twenty-fifth conference on artificial intelligence","author":"Tellex S","year":"2011"},{"key":"bibr62-0278364914554471","first-page":"1000","author":"Thomaz AL","year":"2006","journal-title":"Proceedings of the 21st national conference on artificial intelligence"},{"key":"bibr63-0278364914554471","first-page":"385","author":"Toussaint M","year":"2010","journal-title":"IEEE international conference on robotics and automation"},{"key":"bibr64-0278364914554471","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15607\/RSS.2012.VIII.056"},{"key":"bibr65-0278364914554471","volume-title":"Proceedings of the twenty-third AAAI conference on artificial intelligence","author":"Ziebart BD","year":"2008"}],"container-title":["The International Journal of Robotics Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/0278364914554471","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/0278364914554471","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/0278364914554471","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T10:18:44Z","timestamp":1777457924000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/0278364914554471"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,16]]},"references-count":65,"journal-issue":{"issue":"2","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2015,2]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/0278364914554471"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0278364914554471","relation":{},"ISSN":["0278-3649","1741-3176"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0278-3649","type":"print"},{"value":"1741-3176","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,16]]}}}