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 integration of electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, control and computer engineering - Mechatronics - lies at the heart of the innumerable gadgets, processes and technology without which modern life would seem impossible. From auto-focus cameras to car engine management systems, and from state-of-the-art robots to the humble washing machine, Mechatronics has a hand in them all.

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!

Risk detection and cyber security play a vital role in the use and success of contemporary computing. By utilizing the latest technological advances, more effective prevention techniques can be developed to protect against cyber threats. Detecting and Mitigating Robotic Cyber Security Risks is an essential reference publication for the latest research on new methodologies and applications in the areas of robotic and digital security. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics, such as authentication techniques, cloud security, and mobile robotics, this book is ideally designed for students, researchers, scientists, and engineers seeking current research on methods, models, and implementations of optimized security in digital contexts.

This book focuses on the design, development, and characterization of a compact magnetic laser scanner for microsurgical applications. In addition, it proposes a laser incision depth controller to be used in soft tissue microsurgeries. The use of laser scanners in soft tissue microsurgery results in high quality ablations with minimal thermal damage to surrounding tissue. However, current scanner technologies for microsurgery are limited to free-beam lasers, which require direct line-of-sight to the surgical site, from outside the patient. Developing compact laser micromanipulation systems is crucial to introducing laser-scanning capabilities in hard-to-reach surgical sites, e.g., vocal cords. In this book, the design and fabrication of a magnetically actuated endoscopic laser scanner have been shown, one that introduces high-speed laser scanning for high quality, non-contact tissue ablations in narrow workspaces. Static and dynamic characterization of the system, its teleoperation through a tablet device, and its control modelling for automated trajectory executions have been shown using a fabricated and assembled prototype. Following this, the book discusses how the laser position and velocity control capabilities of the scanner can be used to design a laser incision depth controller to assist surgeons during operations.

This book contains selected papers from SEB-18, the Tenth International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, which was organised by KES International and Griffith University and held in Gold Coast, Australia in June 2018. SEB-18 invited contributions on a range of topics related to sustainable buildings and renewable energy, and explored innovative topics regarding intelligent buildings and cities. Applicable areas included the sustainable design and of buildings, neighbourhoods and cities (built and natural environment); optimisation and modelling techniques; smart energy systems for smart cities; green information communications technology; and a broad range of solar, wind, wave and other renewable energy topics. The aim of the conference was to bring together researchers and government and industry professionals to discuss the future of energy in buildings, neighbourhoods and cities from a theoretical, practical, implementation and simulation perspective. In addition, SEB-18 offered an exciting opportunity to present, interact, and learn about the latest research in Sustainability in Energy and Buildings.

Modelling in polymer materials science has experienced a dramatic growth in the last two decades. Advances in modeling methodologies together with rapid growth in computational power have made it possible to address increasingly complex questions both of a fundamental and of a more applied nature.
Multiscale Modelling of Polymer Properties assembles research done on modeling of polymeric materials from a hierarchical point of view, in which several methods are combined in a multilevel approach to complex polymeric materials. Contributions from academic and industrial experts are organized in two parts: the first one addresses the methodological aspects while the second one focuses on specific applications. The book aims at comprehensively assessing the current state of the field, including the strengths and shortcomings of available modelling techniques, and at identifying future needs and trends.
* Several levels of approximation to the field of polymer modelling; ranging from first-principles to purely macroscopic
* Contributions from both academic and industrial experts with varying fields of expertise
* Assesses current state of this emerging and rapidly growing field

This book highlights operation principles for Air Traffic Control Automated Systems (ATCAS), new scientific directions in design and application of dispatching training simulators and parameters of ATCAS radio equipment items for aircraft positioning. This book is designed for specialists in air traffic control and navigation at a professional and scientific level. The following topics are also included in this book: personnel actions in emergency, including such unforeseen circumstances as communication failure, airplane wandering off course, unrecognized aircraft appearance in the air traffic service zone, aerial target interception, fuel draining, airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS) alarm, emergency stacking and volcanic ash cloud straight ahead.

This book presents advanced studies on the conversion efficiency, mechanical reliability, and the quality of power related to wind energy systems. The main concern regarding such systems is reconciling the highly intermittent nature of the primary source (wind speed) with the demand for high-quality electrical energy and system stability. This means that wind energy conversion within the standard parameters imposed by the energy market and power industry is unachievable without optimization and control. The book discusses the rapid growth of control and optimization paradigms and applies them to wind energy systems: new controllers, new computational approaches, new applications, new algorithms, and new obstacles.

The book investigates fundamental issues in flexible manipulator systems, including distributed parameter modeling and boundary controller design. It presents theoretical explorations of several fundamental problems concerning the dynamics and control of these systems. By integrating fresh concepts and results to form a systematic approach to control, it also provides a basic theoretical framework. In turn, the book offers a comprehensive treatment of flexible manipulator systems, addressing topics ranging from related distributed parameter modeling and advanced boundary controller design for these systems with input constraint, to active control with output constraint. In brief, the book addresses dynamical analysis and control design for flexible manipulator systems. Though primarily intended for researchers and engineers in the control system and mechanical engineering community, it can also serve as supplemental reading on the modeling and control of flexible manipulator systems at the postgraduate level.

This monograph introduces recent developments in formation control of distributed-agent systems. Eschewing the traditional concern with the dynamic characteristics of individual agents, the book proposes a treatment that studies the formation control problem in terms of interactions among agents including factors such as sensing topology, communication and actuation topologies, and computations. Keeping pace with recent technological advancements in control, communications, sensing and computation that have begun to bring the applications of distributed-systems theory out of the industrial sphere and into that of day-to-day life, this monograph provides distributed control algorithms for a group of agents that may behave together. Unlike traditional control laws that usually require measurements with respect to a global coordinate frame and communications between a centralized operation center and agents, this book provides control laws that require only relative measurements and communications between agents without interaction with a centralized operator. Since the control algorithms presented in this book do not require any global sensing and any information exchanges with a centralized operation center, they can be realized in a fully distributed way, which significantly reduces the operation and implementation costs of a group of agents. Formation Control will give both students and researchers interested in pursuing this field a good grounding on which to base their work.

This book offers the first comprehensive introduction to the inerter, its successful application in Formula One racing, and other state-of-the-art applications in vibration control. It presents fundamental analysis results and design methods for inerter-based vibration control systems. Providing comprehensive information on the inerter, a pioneering mechanical element invented by Prof. Malcolm C. Smith at Cambridge University in 2002, it will be of considerable interest to readers with a background in control theory, mechanical vibration or related subjects.

This book gathers papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-18), held in Gold Coast, Australia in June 2018. The conference covered a wide range of topics, including: sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable processes and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of the societal impact of sustainability including research on the circular economy. The corresponding application areas are wide and varied. The aim of cutting-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing is to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies, and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. With these goals in mind, the book provides an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

Intelligent Control techniques are becoming important tools in both academia and industry. Methodologies developed in the field of soft-computing, such as neural networks, fuzzy systems and evolutionary computation, can lead to accommodation of more complex processes, improved performance and considerable time savings and cost reductions. "Intelligent Control Systems Using Computational Intelligence Techniques" details the application of these tools to the field of control systems. Each chapter gives an overview of current approaches in the topic covered, with a set of the most important set references in the field, and then details the author s approach, examining both the theory and practical applications."

Dynamic Thinking: A Primer on Dynamic Field Theory introduces the reader to a new approach to understanding cognitive and neural dynamics using the concepts of Dynamic Field Theory (DFT). Dynamic Neural Fields are formalizations of how neural populations represent the continuous dimensions of perceptual features, movements, and cognitive decisions. The concepts of DFT establish links between brain and behavior, revealing ways in which models of brain function can be tested with both neural and behavioral measures. Thus, DFT bridges the gap between brain and behavior, between neuroscience and the behavioral sciences. The book provides systematic tutorials on the central concepts of DFT and their grounding in both dynamical systems theory and neurophysiology. The concrete mathematical implementation of these concepts is laid out, supported by hands-on exercises that make use of interactive simulators in MATLAB. The book also contains a large set of exemplary case studies in which the concepts and associated models are used to understand how elementary forms of embodied cognition emerge and develop.

LEGO MINDSTORMS lets you design and program robots that can do just about anything
The LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0 is the core set for all MINDSTORMS users, that lets users design and program working robots - limited only by their imagination. Initially designed for users 12 and up, LEGO MINDSTORMS has taken off with LEGO enthusiasts of all ages.
10 Cool LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0 Projects: Amazing Projects You Can Build in Under an Hour provides step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations for users of all skill levels and proficiencies.
From out of the box to up and running in less than an hour.
8-page color insert. A color insert illustrates the complete projects in full-detail.
Specifically targeted at new users of the LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0.

This is the fourth volume of the successful series Robot Operating Systems: The Complete Reference, providing a comprehensive overview of robot operating systems (ROS), which is currently the main development framework for robotics applications, as well as the latest trends and contributed systems. The book is divided into four parts: Part 1 features two papers on navigation, discussing SLAM and path planning. Part 2 focuses on the integration of ROS into quadcopters and their control. Part 3 then discusses two emerging applications for robotics: cloud robotics, and video stabilization. Part 4 presents tools developed for ROS; the first is a practical alternative to the roslaunch system, and the second is related to penetration testing. This book is a valuable resource for ROS users and wanting to learn more about ROS capabilities and features.

This book describes an original improvement in power quality of photovoltaic generation systems obtained by the use of a multilevel inverter implemented with level doubling network (LDN). Modulation principles and harmonic analysis of output voltages are proposed and introduced in detail for both single and three-phase LDN configurations. The analysis is then extended to dc-link current and voltage, with emphasis to low-frequency harmonics and switching frequency ripple. This work represents the first comprehensive implementation of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) schemes using the ripple correlation control (RCC) algorithm in the presence of multiple ripple harmonics, such as in the case of multi level inverters. Numerical simulations and experimental tests are carefully reported here, together with practical insights into the design of dc-link capacitors.

Cognitive architectures represent an umbrella term to describe ways in which the flow of thought can be engineered towards cerebral and behavioral outcomes. Cognitive Architectures are meant to provide top-down guidance, a knowledge base, interactive heuristics and concrete or fuzzy policies for which the virtual character can utilize for intelligent interaction with his/her/its situated virtual environment. Integrating Cognitive Architectures into Virtual Character Design presents emerging research on virtual character artificial intelligence systems and procedures and the integration of cognitive architectures. Emphasizing innovative methodologies for intelligent virtual character integration and design, this publication is an ideal reference source for graduate-level students, researchers, and professionals in the fields of artificial intelligence, gaming, and computer science.

This is the fifth volume of a sub series on Road Vehicle Automation published within the Lecture Notes in Mobility. Like in previous editions, scholars, engineers and analysts from all around the world have contributed chapters covering human factors, ethical, legal, energy and technology aspects related to automated vehicles, as well as transportation infrastructure and public planning. The book is based on the Automated Vehicles Symposium which was hosted by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) in San Francisco, California (USA) in July 2017.