This work was created from the statement "But, all you have to do is make the robot recognize its surroundings. Salamanders do it, and how complex are they?" Little did we know what a long path was started with those simple words. This book is a small step on that path, which we hope leads to robots that can serve as true and useful assistants to humans. At the least, we hope for some help with the tasks that are described by the 3 d**** words (dull, dirty, or dangerous). Fair warning, this work is a synthesis of ideas from many disciplines. As such, we have depended on the work of many other researchers and philosophers. The heart of this work, the lens model, comes from the work of Egon Brunswik. Even though he died in the 1950's, his ideas are still strong enough to resonate into the 2000's and into our robot. Another researcher who's work has greatly in?uenced this work is Walter Freeman, Professor Emeritus of Neurobiology at the University of California, Berkeley. We have relied heavily on his work on preafference and attention to guide the development of our robot. In addition, we have used research from a myriad of different ?elds. Our huge thanks to all the researchers who's work we used to synthesize this new theory. Denver, CO Louise F. Gunderson July 2008 James P.

During the past decade, high-performance computer graphics have found application in an exciting and expanding range of new domains. Among the most dramatic developments has been the incorporation of real-time interactive manipulation and display for human figures. Though actively pursued by several research groups, the problem of providing a synthetic or surrogate human for engineers and designers already familiar with computer-aided design techniques was most comprehensively solved by Norman Badler's Computer Graphics Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania. The breadth of that effort as well as the details of its methodology and software environment are presented in this volume. The book is intended for human factors engineers interested in understanding how a computer-graphics surrogate human can augment their analyses of designed environments. It will also inform design engineers of the state of the art in human figure modeling, and hence of the human-centered design central to the emergent concept of concurrent engineering. In fulfilling these goals, the book additionally documents for the entire computer graphics community a major research effort in the interactive control of articulated human figures.

There are many myths and mistakes which make the topics of artificial intelligence complex and confusing. But the truth is that the foundations of AI are not rocket science. People do not need a PhD to understand how a basic neural network works. In fact, one does not even need computer skills to learn this. Cunning Machines: Your Pocket Guide to the World of Artificial Intelligence explains the main concepts: what does AI really mean, where do we find it, how do scientists try to evaluate it, what are its main limitations and what future we can expect with it? It also describes the most popular AI techniques in an easy-to-digest form: Artificial neural networks Genetic algorithms The Monte Carlo method Natural language processing Ontologies and their applications This book is for everyone. Still, it may be especially valuable to teachers who wish to enrich their classes with some interesting and popular topics, sales managers and business analysts who wish to better understand the IT world, and finally politicians and journalists who take part in debates on the latest technologies. Jedrzej Osinski earned a PhD in artificial intelligence, has worked on government grants and has published 14 scientific papers to date. He is also the co-author of two books. At the same time, he has over ten years of experience working in IT companies of different sizes, domains (the web, telecoms, banking, e-learning), organisation structures and locations (Poland, Ireland and the UK). He is also involved in various initiatives promoting AI, science and modern technologies including blog posts, invited talks and TV and radio appearances

Build your own intelligent agent system...

Intelligent agent technology is a tool of modern computer science that can be used to engineer complex computer programmes that behave rationally in dynamic and changing environments. Applications range from small programmes that intelligently search the Web buying and selling goods via electronic commerce, to autonomous space probes.

This powerful technology is not widely used, however, as developing intelligent agent software requires high levels of training and skill. The authors of this book have developed and tested a methodology and tools for developing intelligent agent systems. With this methodology ("Prometheus") developers can start agent-oriented designs and implementations easily from scratch saving valuable time and resources.

"Developing Intelligent Agent Systems" not only answers the questions "what are agents?" and "why are they useful?" but also the crucial question: "how do I design and build intelligent agent systems?" The book covers everything a practitioner needs to know to begin to effectively use this technology - including an introduction to the notion of agents, a description of the concepts involved, and a software engineering methodology.

Read on for: a practical step-by-step introduction to designing and building intelligent agent systems.a full life-cycle methodology for developing intelligent agent systems covering specification, analysis, design and implementation of agents."PDT: Prometheus Design Tool" - software support for the "Prometheus" design process.the example of an electronic bookstore to illustrate the design process throughout the book.

Electronic resources including the Prometheus Design Tool (PDT), can be found at: "http: //www.cs.rmit.edu.au/agents/prometheus"

This book is aimed at industrial software developers, software engineers and at advanced undergraduate students. It assumes knowledge of basic software engineering but does not require knowledge of Artificial Intelligence or of mathematics. Familiarity with Java will help in reading the examples in chapter 10.

Love, marriage, and sex with robots? Not in a million years? "Maybe a whole lot sooner!"

A leading expert in artificial intelligence, David Levy argues that the entities we once deemed cold and mechanical will soon become the objects of real companionship and human desire. He shows how automata have evolved and how human interactions with technology have changed over the years. Levy explores many aspects of human relationships--the reasons we fall in love, why we form emotional attachments to animals and virtual pets, and why these same attachments could extend to love for robots. Levy also examines how society's ideas about what constitutes normal sex have changed--and will continue to change--as sexual technology becomes increasingly sophisticated.

Shocking, eye-opening, provocative, and utterly convincing, "Love and Sex with Robots" is compelling reading for anyone with an open mind.

Sharon Lang explores sharaf ('honour') as a social construct of Israeli-Palestinian society and how this key concept is inextricably linked to male emotion, identity and action. Providing ethnographic insight into the real life perspective and gendered politics of Israeli-Palestinian people, the book examines how sharaf is interwoven in acts of violence as well as matters of peacemaking. Family honour killings, murders of women by their fathers and brothers are analyzed in order to understand how male identity connects to female sexuality, and how sharaf may move a man to kill. Ultimately, the book illustrates how Palestinians have held onto and recreated indigenous political practices based on social norms and values of sharaf and reconciliation despite the imposition of Israeli systems of control.

Focusses on important perspectives of the Internet of Drones (IoD) Emphasizes drone deployment in smart cities, smart agriculture, smart healthcare, and 3D mapping Covers challenges in drone design for applications with security and privacy issues Reviews diversified drone applications with real-use cases from modern drone players ranging from startup companies to big giants in the drone industry Includes different aspects of drone design such as hardware and software architecture, potential applications, and opportunities

Revised and updated, the second edition includes several new chapters with projects and applications. The authors keep pace with the ever-growing and rapidly expanding field of robotics. The new edition reflects technological developments and includes programs and activities for robot enthusiasts. Using photographs, illustrations, and informative text, Mobile Robots guides the reader through the step-by-step process of constructing two different and inexpensive yet fully functional robots.

Flexible Multibody Dynamics comprehensively describes the numerical modelling of flexible multibody dynamics systems in space and aircraft structures, vehicles, and mechanical systems. A rigorous approach is followed to handle finite rotations in 3D, with a thorough discussion of the different alternatives for parametrization. Modelling of flexible bodies is treated following the Finite Element technique, a novel aspect in multibody systems simulation.

Moreover, this book provides extensive coverage of the formulation of a general purpose software for flexible multibody dynamics analysis, based on an exhaustive treatment of large rotations and finite element modelling, and incorporating useful reference material.

Features include different solution techniques such as:

• time integration of differential-algebraic equations

• non-linear substructuring

• continuation methods

• nonlinear bifurcation analysis.

In this book, we look at how cluster technology can be leveraged to build better robots. Algorithms and approaches in key areas of robotics and computer vision, such as map building, path planning, target tracking, action selection and learning, are reviewed and cluster implementations for these are presented.

The objective of the book is to give professionals working in the beowulf cluster or robotics and computer vision fields a concrete view of the strong synergy between the areas as well as to spur further fruitful exploitation of this connection. The book is written at a level appropriate for an advanced undergraduate or graduate student. The key concepts in robotics, computer vision and cluster computing are introduced before being used to make the text useful to a wide audience in these fields.

Algorithms that control the computational processes relating sensors and actuators are indispensable for robot navigation and the perception of the world in which they move. Therefore, a deep understanding of how algorithms work to achieve this control is essential for the development of efficient and usable robots in a broad field of applications. An interdisciplinary group of scientists gathers every two years to document the progress in algorithmic foundations of robotics. This volume addresses in particular the areas of control theory, computational and differential geometry in robotics, and applications to core problems such as motion planning, navigation, sensor-based planning, and manipulation.

Looking for ways to handle the transition to a digital economy.Robots, artificial intelligence, and driverless cars are no longer things of the distant future. They are with us today and will become increasingly common in coming years, along with virtual reality and digital personal assistants. As these tools advance deeper into everyday use, they raise the question-how will they transform society, the economy, and politics? If companies need fewer workers due to automation and robotics, what happens to those who once held those jobs and don't have the skills for new jobs? And since many social benefits are delivered through jobs, how are people outside the workforce for a lengthy period of time going to earn a living and get health care and social benefits? Looking past today's headlines, political scientist and cultural observer Darrell M. West argues that society needs to rethink the concept of jobs, reconfigure the social contract, move toward a system of lifetime learning, and develop a new kind of politics that can deal with economic dislocations. With the U.S. governance system in shambles because of political polarization and hyper-partisanship, dealing creatively with the transition to a fully digital economy will vex political leaders and complicate the adoption of remedies that could ease the transition pain. It is imperative that we make major adjustments in how we think about work and the social contract in order to prevent society from spiraling out of control. This book presents a number of proposals to help people deal with the transition from an industrial to a digital economy. We must broaden the concept of employment to include volunteering and parenting and pay greater attention to the opportunities for leisure time. New forms of identity will be possible when the "job" no longer defines people's sense of personal meaning, and they engage in a broader range of activities. Workers will need help throughout their lifetimes to acquire new skills and develop new job capabilities. Political reforms will be necessary to reduce polarization and restore civility so there can be open and healthy debate about where responsibility lies for economic well-being. This book is an important contribution to a discussion about tomorrow-one that needs to take place today.

Robot Manipulator Control offers a complete survey of control systems for serial-link robot arms and acknowledges how robotic device performance hinges upon a well-developed control system. Containing over 750 essential equations, this thoroughly up-to-date Second Edition, the book explicates theoretical and mathematical requisites for controls design and summarizes current techniques in computer simulation and implementation of controllers. It also addresses procedures and issues in computed-torque, robust, adaptive, neural network, and force control. New chapters relay practical information on commercial robot manipulators and devices and cutting-edge methods in neural network control.

This book discusses the core principles and practical applications of a brand new machine category: liquid-metal soft machines and motors. After a brief introduction on the conventional soft robot and its allied materials, it presents the new conceptual liquid-metal machine, which revolutionizes existing rigid robots, both large and small. It outlines the typical features of the soft liquid-metal materials and describes the various transformation capabilities, mergence of separate metal droplets, self-rotation and planar locomotion of liquid-metal objects under external or internal mechanism. Further, it introduces a series of unusual phenomena discovered while developing the shape changeable smart soft machine and interprets the related mechanisms regarding the effects of the shape, size, voltage, orientation and geometries of the external fields to control the liquid-metal transformers. Moreover, the book illustrates typical strategies to construct a group of different advanced functional liquid-metal soft machines, since such machines or robots are hard to fabricate using rigid-metal or conventional materials. With highly significant fundamental and practical findings, this book is intended for researchers interested in establishing a general method for making future smart soft machine and accompanying robots.

This book provides an insightful introduction to the most important field of military innovation for the 21st century-robotic and drone weaponry. For centuries, warring nations have sought to lower the risk to highly vulnerable humans on the battlefield, typically by providing protective armor, making soldiers' positions more difficult to detect, or by striking from locations safe from retaliation. Autonomous weaponry has now reached the point where robotic systems can perform some key tasks that previously required direct human involvement. Military Robots and Drones: A Reference Handbook introduces the lay person to a highly specialized topic, providing the foundation necessary for further study in this field. Appropriate for high school and college-level students, as well as general readers with an interest in the topic, the author explains the many military applications of robotics as well as current limitations and disadvantages. The book also provides a general history of robotic warfare; examines key individuals, agencies, documents, and models; discusses controversies within the field of robotic and drone warfare, such as ethical considerations; and explains how increased reliance on robotics has affected the structure and strategy of the military. A chronology of important events in robotic technology A detailed bibliography on the latest sources related to this innovative technology

The present book includes a set of selected papers from the Fifth International Conf- ence on Informatics in Control Automation and Robotics (ICINCO 2008), held in Funchal, Madeira - Portugal, from 11 to 15 May 2008. The conference was organized in three simultaneous tracks: Intelligent Control Systems and Optimization, Robotics and Automation, and Systems Modeling, Signal Processing and Control. The book is based on the same structure. ICINCO 2008 received 392 paper submissions, from more than 50 different co- tries in all continents. From these, after a blind review process, only 33 where - cepted as full papers, of which 18 were selected for inclusion in this book, based on the classifications provided by the Program Committee. The selected papers reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the conference. The diversity of topics is an important feature of this conference, enabling an overall perception of several important sci- tific and technological trends. These high quality standards will be maintained and reinforced at ICINCO 2009, to be held in Milan, Italy, and in future editions of this conference.

As we approach a great turning point in history when technology is poised to redefine what it means to be human, The Fourth Age offers fascinating insight into AI, robotics, and their extraordinary implications for our species. "If you only read just one book about the AI revolution, make it this one" (John Mackey, cofounder and CEO, Whole Foods Market). In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese makes the case that technology has reshaped humanity just three times in history: 100,000 years ago, we harnessed fire, which led to language; 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture, which led to cities and warfare; 5,000 years ago, we invented the wheel and writing, which lead to the nation state. We are now on the doorstep of a fourth change brought about by two technologies: AI and robotics. "Timely, highly informative, and certainly optimistic" (Booklist), The Fourth Age provides an essential background on how we got to this point, and how-rather than what-we should think about the topics we'll soon all be facing: machine consciousness, automation, changes in employment, creative computers, radical life extension, artificial life, AI ethics, the future of warfare, superintelligence, and the implications of extreme prosperity. By asking questions like "Are you a machine?" and "Could a computer feel anything?", Reese leads you through a discussion along the cutting edge in robotics and AI, and provides a framework by which we can all understand, discuss, and act on the issues of the Fourth Age and how they'll transform humanity.

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 2020 International Conference on Robotic Welding, Intelligence and Automation (RWIA'2020) in Shanghai and Lanzhou, China. 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.

Intelligent Systems and Robotics focuses on new developments in robotics and intelligent systems and provides insight, guidance and specific techniques vital to those concerned with the design and implementation of robotics and intelligent system applications. Intelligent Systems and Robotics presents information on a 3-D vision for robots and intelligent control of a vision-based reasoning system with a robot manipulator. The reader will find authoritative presentations on autonomous land vehicle navigation, manipulator reachable workspace problems and the formulation of algorithms for their solution. Covered are methods for medical applications utilizing expert adaptive control, the integrated piezoelectric sensor/actuator design for distributed identification and control of smart machines, including theory, experiments, finite element formulation and analysis. Automatic repair of aircraft transparencies and geometric modeling utilized in robot task planning as well as the evaluation of standard fieldbus networks utilized in the factory environment are presented.

Many companies are now offering robots that are geared to the casual electronics hobbyist, both in kit form and as fully assembled models. This book gives an overview of available robot products, ranging from the simple to the complex. Interested readers will be able to find the robot kit that matches their skill level and pocketbook. Beginners may want to try a robot that is already fully assembled, or a kit with pre-assembled electronics. Other readers may opt for kits that require soldering and electronic experience. Other criteria a reader will be able to review include motion systems (robots that roll on wheels, or walk on legs, or robot arms), available sensors (from none to a wide range), and programming complexity (how the robot is programmed). If its not really a robot, its not in this book.

Humanoid Robots: Modeling and Control provides systematic presentation of the models used in the analysis, design and control of humanoid robots. The book starts with a historical overview of the field, a summary of the current state of the art achievements and an outline of the related fields of research. It moves on to explain the theoretical foundations in terms of kinematic, kineto-static and dynamic relations. Further on, a detailed overview of biped balance control approaches is presented. Models and control algorithms for cooperative object manipulation with a multi-finger hand, a dual-arm and a multi-robot system are also discussed. One of the chapters is devoted to selected topics from the area of motion generation and control and their applications. The final chapter focuses on simulation environments, specifically on the step-by-step design of a simulator using the Matlab (R) environment and tools. This book will benefit readers with an advanced level of understanding of robotics, mechanics and control such as graduate students, academic and industrial researchers and professional engineers. Researchers in the related fields of multi-legged robots, biomechanics, physical therapy and physics-based computer animation of articulated figures can also benefit from the models and computational algorithms presented in the book.

There has been great interest in "universal controllers" that mimic the functions of human processes to learn about the systems they are controlling on-line so that performance improves automatically. Neural network controllers are derived for robot manipulators in a variety of applications including position control, force control, link flexibility stabilization and the management of high-frequency joint and motor dynamics.
The first chapter provides a background on neural networks and the second on dynamical systems and control. Chapter three introduces the robot control problem and standard techniques such as torque, adaptive and robust control. Subsequent chapters give design techniques and Stability Proofs For NN Controllers For Robot Arms, Practical Robotic systems with high frequency vibratory modes, force control and a general class of non-linear systems. The last chapters are devoted to discrete- time NN controllers. Throughout the text, worked examples are provided.

This exciting book breaks new ground by introducing the amateur to the ideas and concepts, both theoretical and practical, of robotics - a nascent discipline which will radically change the way we work. Although today we use the term 'robots', in the future other terms will have to be coined in order to describe their utility & capabilities. The book is divided into two sections: 1: How and why robots work and how they are controlled. 2: How to make a simple two-legged humanoid robot that can be programmed to walk. There are no complicated formulae or equations to grapple with or complicated circuit diagrams to decipher, and you don't have to be either a machinist or a programmer - everything is presented in clear, concise, everyday English. The robot can be built quickly on a workbench, or even a kitchen table, with a minimum number of handtools, and all the parts are easily available in the UK and the USA. This is a fascinating and unique book which explains the basics of a subject which is the next generation of model engineering, combining construction skills with computer programming and teaches you to build and run a working robot which can be controlled from any personal computer.

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) is a process where an autonomous vehicle builds a map of an unknown environment while concurrently generating an estimate for its location. This book is concerned with computationally efficient solutions to the large scale SLAM problems using exactly sparse Extended Information Filters (EIF).The invaluable book also provides a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the properties of the information matrix in EIF-based algorithms for SLAM. Three exactly sparse information filters for SLAM are described in detail, together with two efficient and exact methods for recovering the state vector and the covariance matrix. Proposed algorithms are extensively evaluated both in simulation and through experiments.

By the dawn of the new millennium, robotics has undergone a major transf- mation in scope and dimensions. This expansion has been brought about by the maturity of the ?eld and the advances in its related technologies. From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics has been rapidly expanding into the challenges of the human world. The new generation of robots is expected to safely and dependably co-habitat with humans in homes, workplaces, and c- munities, providing support in services, entertainment, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and assistance. Beyond its impact on physical robots, the body of knowledge robotics has produced is revealing a much wider rangeof applications reaching across diverse research areas and scienti?c disciplines, such as: biomechanics, haptics, n- rosciences, virtual simulation, animation, surgery, and sensor networks among others. In return, the challenges of the new emerging areas are proving an ab- dant source of stimulation and insights for the ?eld of robotics. It is indeed at the intersection of disciplines that the most striking advances happen. The goal of the series of Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on thebasisoftheirsigni?canceandquality.Itisourhopethatthewiderdissemi- tion of research developments will stimulate more exchanges and collaborations among the research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing ?eld.