A comprehensive, authoritative, and accessible reference for disaster robotics that covers theory, specific deployments, and ground, air, and marine modalities. This book offers the definitive guide to the theory and practice of disaster robotics. It can serve as an introduction for researchers and technologists, a reference for emergency managers, and a textbook in field robotics. Written by a pioneering researcher in the field who has herself participated in fifteen deployments of robots in disaster response and recovery, the book covers theory and practice, the history of the field, and specific missions. After a broad overview of rescue robotics in the context of emergency informatics, the book provides a chronological summary and formal analysis of the thirty-four documented deployments of robots to disasters that include the 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and numerous mining accidents. It then examines disaster robotics in the typical robot modalities of ground, air, and marine, addressing such topics as robot types, missions and tasks, and selection heuristics for each modality. Finally, the book discusses types of fieldwork, providing practical advice on matters that include collecting data and collaborating with emergency professionals. The field of disaster robotics has lacked a comprehensive overview. This book by a leader in the field, offering a unique combination of the theoretical and the practical, fills the gap.

The social sciences, especially economics, management, and organizational science, are experiencing a tremendous renewed interest for their epistemological and methodological statutes, as witnessed by the many books and specialized journals established during the last two decades. Relational Methodologies and Epistemology in the Economics and Management Sciences identifies and presents the four main network-based methodologies including network analysis, Boolean network simulation modeling, artificial neural network simulation modeling, and agent-based simulation modeling in addition to their conceptual-epistemological implications and concrete applications within the social and natural sciences. Featuring a critical assessment of relational methodologies and their practical applications, this timely publication is ideal for use by corporate R&D departments, researchers, theorists, and graduate-level students.

The central theme of this book series is to explore the contemporary perspectives on managing technological innovations and related strategic policy issues. Specifically, this book series open to all potential topics that need attention within the broad theme of the management of technology and innovations, and promote an interdisciplinary scholarship and dialogue on the management of innovation and technological change in a global context from strategic, managerial, behavioral, and policy perspectives. The third volume of this book series concentrates on Technological Innovation Networks: Collaboration and Partnership - a theme resonating with scholars and practitioners that innovation requires a network of partners to collaborate. Authors from around the world contribute to this volume by approaching this theme from many different perspectives: an institutional understanding of international R&D networks, a stakeholder centrality potential in innovation networks, the intersection between intellectual structure and M & A, the rejections of the technological opportunities due to lock?in, the policy?practice paradox of technological innovations, Japan's national innovation strategy, immigrant entrepreneurs in patents and performance, the impact of university research parks on technology transfer, a historical narrative of cotton technology in China, and the innovative online or blended education in terms of motivation and reality. These researches have made significant attempts to address the important questions on how technological innovation touched on many aspects of our networked social life, thus I hope readers who are interested in learning the most contemporary perspectives on the technological innovation will be impressed, enriched, and intrigued by their analyses in each chapter. As the editor, I hope readers of the volume could enjoy these chapters by its global nature, the practicality orientation, the critical perspective, and the new theories and practices embedded in the selected research.

The World of Robotics offers an in-depth look into the history of robotic technology. Learn how the imagination of Science Fiction authors and filmmakers, along with the incredible genius of scientists and engineers, has given rise to some invaluable creations of technology that are saving lives and allowing mankind to explore distant worlds.

Focusing on autonomous robotic applications, this cutting-edge resource offers a practical treatment of short-range radar processing for reliable object detection at the ground level. This unique book demonstrates probabilistic radar models and detection algorithms specifically for robotic land vehicles. Engineers and researchers may find detailed coverage of Simultaneous Localization and Map Building (SLAM) - an area referred to as the "Holy Grail" of autonomous robotics research.

The primary aim of this volume is to provide researchers and engineers from both academic and industry with up-to-date coverage of new results in the field of robotic welding, intelligent systems and automation. The book is mainly based on papers selected from the 2019 International Workshop on Intelligentized Welding Manufacturing (IWIWM'2019) in USA. The articles show that the intelligentized welding manufacturing (IWM) is becoming an inevitable trend with the intelligentized robotic welding as the key technology. The volume is divided into four logical parts: Intelligent Techniques for Robotic Welding, Sensing of Arc Welding Processing, Modeling and Intelligent Control of Welding Processing, as well as Intelligent Control and its Applications in Engineering.

Control Applications for Biomedical Engineering Systems presents different control engineering and modeling applications in the biomedical field. It is intended for senior undergraduate or graduate students in both control engineering and biomedical engineering programs. For control engineering students, it presents the application of various techniques already learned in theoretical lectures in the biomedical arena. For biomedical engineering students, it presents solutions to various problems in the field using methods commonly used by control engineers.

Robotics is an ever-expanding field and intelligent planning continues to play a major role. Given that the intention of mobile robots is to carry out tasks independent from human aid, robot intelligence is needed to make and plan out decisions based on various sensors. Planning is the fundamental activity that implements this intelligence into the mobile robots to complete such tasks. Understanding problems, challenges, and solutions to path planning and how it fits in is important to the realm of robotics. Intelligent Planning for Mobile Robotics: Algorithmic Approaches presents content coverage on the basics of artificial intelligence, search problems, and soft computing approaches. This collection of research provides insight on both robotics and basic algorithms and could serve as a reference book for courses related to robotics, special topics in AI, planning, applied soft computing, applied AI, and applied evolutionary computing. It is an ideal choice for research students, scholars, and professors alike.

This monograph presents a technique, developed by the author, to design asymptotically exponentially stabilizing finite-dimensional boundary proportional-type feedback controllers for nonlinear parabolic-type equations. The potential control applications of this technique are wide ranging in many research areas, such as Newtonian fluid flows modeled by the Navier-Stokes equations; electrically conducted fluid flows; phase separation modeled by the Cahn-Hilliard equations; and deterministic or stochastic semi-linear heat equations arising in biology, chemistry, and population dynamics modeling. The text provides answers to the following problems, which are of great practical importance: Designing the feedback law using a minimal set of eigenfunctions of the linear operator obtained from the linearized equation around the target state Designing observers for the considered control systems Constructing time-discrete controllers requiring only partial knowledge of the state After reviewing standard notations and results in functional analysis, linear algebra, probability theory and PDEs, the author describes his novel stabilization algorithm. He then demonstrates how this abstract model can be applied to stabilization problems involving magnetohydrodynamic equations, stochastic PDEs, nonsteady-states, and more. Boundary Stabilization of Parabolic Equations will be of particular interest to researchers in control theory and engineers whose work involves systems control. Familiarity with linear algebra, operator theory, functional analysis, partial differential equations, and stochastic partial differential equations is required.

As a segment of the broader science of automation, robotics has achieved tremendous progress in recent decades due to the advances in supporting technologies such as computers, control systems, cameras and electronic vision, as well as micro and nanotechnology. Prototyping a design helps in determining system parameters, ranges, and in structuring an overall better system. Robotics is one of the industrial design fields in which prototyping is crucial for improved functionality. Prototyping of Robotic Systems: Applications of Design and Implementation provides a framework for conceptual, theoretical, and applied research in robotic prototyping and its applications. Covering the prototyping of various robotic systems including the complicated industrial robots, the tiny and delicate nanorobots, medical robots for disease diagnosis and treatment, as well as the simple robots for educational purposes, this book is a useful tool for those in the field of robotics prototyping and as a general reference tool for those in related fields.

The Microchip PIC family of microcontrollers is the most popular series of microcontrollers in the world. However, no microcontroller is of any use without software to make it perform useful functions. This comprehensive reference focuses on designing with Microchip s mid-range PIC line using MBASIC, a powerful but easy to learn programming language. It illustrates MBASIC s abilities through a series of design examples, beginning with simple PIC-based projects and proceeding through more advanced designs. Unlike other references however, it also covers essential hardware and software design fundamentals of the PIC microcontroller series, including programming in assembly language when needed to supplement the capabilities of MBASIC. Details of hardware/software interfacing to the PIC are also provided.
BENEFIT TO THE READER: This book provides one of the most thorough introductions available to the world s most popular microcontroller, with numerous hardware and software working design examples which engineers, students and hobbyists can directly apply to their design work and studies. Using MBASIC, it is possible to develop working programs for the PIC in a much shorter time frame than when using assembly language.
* Offers a complete introduction to programming the most popular microcontroller in the world, using the MBASIC compiler from a company that is committed to supporting the book both through purchases and promotion
* Provides numerous real-world design examples, all carefully tested
* Companion website contains the source code files and executables, and will include a demo version of the MBASIC compiler, allowing engineers to work out the design exercises in the book"

Knowledge Management makes the management of information and resources within a commercial organization more effective. The contributions of this book investigate the applications of Knowledge Management in the upcoming era of Semantic Web, or Web 3.0, and the opportunities for reshaping and redesigning business strategies for more effective outcomes.

This book presents a variety of perspectives on vision-based applications. These contributions are focused on optoelectronic sensors, 3D & 2D machine vision technologies, robot navigation, control schemes, motion controllers, intelligent algorithms and vision systems. The authors focus on applications of unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous and mobile robots, industrial inspection applications and structural health monitoring. Recent advanced research in measurement and others areas where 3D & 2D machine vision and machine control play an important role, as well as surveys and reviews about vision-based applications. These topics are of interest to readers from diverse areas, including electrical, electronics and computer engineering, technologists, students and non-specialist readers. * Presents current research in image and signal sensors, methods, and 3D & 2D technologies in vision-based theories and applications; * Discusses applications such as daily use devices including robotics, detection, tracking and stereoscopic vision systems, pose estimation, avoidance of objects, control and data exchange for navigation, and aerial imagery processing; * Includes research contributions in scientific, industrial, and civil applications.

In this practical reference, popular author Lewin Edwards shows how to develop robust, dependable real-time systems for robotics and other control applications, using open-source tools. It demonstrates efficient and low-cost embedded hardware and software design techniques, based on Linux as the development platform and operating system and the Atmel AVR as the primary microcontroller. The book provides comprehensive examples of sensor, actuator and control applications and circuits, along with source code for a number of projects. It walks the reader through the process of setting up the Linux-based controller, from creating a custom kernel to customizing the BIOS, to implementing graphical control interfaces.
Including detailed design information on:
-ESBUS PC-host interface
-Host-module communications protocol
-A speed-controlled DC motor with tach feedback and thermal cut-off
-A stepper motor controller
-A two-axis attitude sensor using a MEMS accelerometer
-Infrared remote control in Linux using LIRC
-Machine vision using Video4Linux
The Accompanying CD-ROM contains a wealth of design materials, including:
-Full schematics and source code for the projects described
-Ready-made disk images for the miniature Linux distribution uses as the basis for the PC-side software
-Distribution archives of source code for all GNU software used, along with application-specific patches where appropriate
-A free version of the schematic capture and PCB CAD software used
-Atmel AVR Studio
* The first-ever book on using open source technology for robotics design!
* Immensely valuable source code and design tools provided on the CD-ROM
* Covershot topics such as GPS navigation, 3-D sensing, and machine vision, all using a Linux platform!