The basic principles guiding sensing, perception and action in bio systems seem to rely on highly organised spatial-temporal dynamics. In fact, all biological senses, (visual, hearing, tactile, etc.) process signals coming from different parts distributed in space and also show a complex time evolution. As an example, mammalian retina performs a parallel representation of the visual world embodied into layers, each of which r- resents a particular detail of the scene. These results clearly state that visual perception starts at the level of the retina, and is not related uniquely to the higher brain centres. Although vision remains the most useful sense guiding usual actions, the other senses, ?rst of all hearing but also touch, become essential particularly in cluttered conditions, where visual percepts are somehow obscured by environment conditions. Ef?cient use of hearing can be learnt from acoustic perception in animals/insects, like crickets, that use this ancient sense more than all the others, to perform a vital function, like mating.

"Virtual Futures" explores the ideas that the future lies in its ability to articulate the consequences of an increasingly synthetic and virtual world. New technologies like cyberspace, the internet, and Chaos theory are often discussed in the context of technology and its potential to liberate or in terms of technophobia. This collection examines both these ideas while also charting a new and controversial route through contemporary discourses on technology; a path that discusses the material evolution and the erotic relation between humans and machines. Including essays by Sadie Plant, Stelarc and Manuel de Landa, the collection heralds the death of humanism and the rise of posthuman pragmatism. This collection provides analyses by both established theorists and the most innovative new voices working in conjunction between the arts and contemporary technology.

Autonomous robots must carry out useful tasks all by themselves relying entirely on their own perceptions of their environment. The cognitive abilities required for autonomous action are largely independent of robot size, which makes mini robots attractive as artefacts for research, education and entertainment. Autonomous mini robots must be small enough for experimentation on a desktop or a small laboratory. They must be easy to carry and safe for interaction with humans. They must not be expensive. Mini robot designers have to work at the leading edge of technology so that their creations can carry out purposeful autonomic action under these constraints. Since 2001 researchers have met every two years for an international symposium to report on the advances achieved in Autonomous Mini Robots for Research and Edutainment (AMiRE). The AMiRE Symposium is a single track conference that offers ample opportunities for discussion and exchange of ideas. This volume contains the contributed papers of the 2011 AMiRE Symposium held from 23 to 25 May 2011 at Bielefeld University, Germany. The contributions in this volume represent the state-of-the-art of autonomous mini robots; they demonstrate what is currently technically feasible and show some of the applications for autonomous mini robots.

Telexistence is a fundamental concept which refers to the general technology that enables a human being to have a real-time sensation of being at a place other than where he or she actually exists, while being able to interact with the remote environment, which may be real, virtual, or a combination of both. It also refers to an advanced type of teleoperation system that enables an operator at the control to perform remote tasks dexterously with the feeling of existing in a surrogate robot working in a remote environment. Telexistence in the real remote environment through a virtual environment is also possible.This book is the first book on telexistence written by the inventor of the concept of this emerging technology. It introduces the concept of telexistence, explains how this concept can be realized, illustrates precisely real examples of the realization of the concept, and determines its future advancement.

Virtual Futures explores the ideas that the future lies in its ability to articulate the consequences of an increasingly synthetic and virtual world. New technologies like cyberspace, the internet, and Chaos theory are often discussed in the context of technology and its potential to liberate or in terms of technophobia. This collection examines both these ideas while also charting a new and controversial route through contemporary discourses on technology; a path that discusses the material evolution and the erotic relation between humans and machines.
Virtual Futures brings together diverse fields such as cyberfeminism, materialist philosophy, postmodern fiction, computing culture and performance art, with essays by Sadie Plant, Stelarc and Manuel de Landa (to name a few). The collection heralds the death of humanism and the ride of posthuman pragmatism. The contested zone of debate throughout these essays is the notion of the posthuman, or the possibility of the cyborg as the free human. Viewed by some writers as a threat to human life and humanism itself, others in the collection describe the posthuman as a critical perspective that anticipates the next step in evolution: the integration or synthesis of humans and machines, organic life and technology.
This view of technology and information is heavily influenced by Anglo American literature, especially cyberpunk, Pynchon and Ballard, as well as the materialist philosophies of Freud, Deleuze, and Haraway, Virtual Futures provides analyses by both established theorists and the most innovative new voices working in conjunction between the arts and contemporary technology.

This book, a compilation of articles from Karl Lunt's long-running column for Nuts & Volts magazine, is a must-read for all beginner and intermediate-level robotics enthusiasts. Written in a friendly, straightforward manner, it contains entertaining anecdotes as well as practical advice and instruction. The author's stories about his various robotics projects will inspire you to try them yourself; and he shares his tips and code to help you. Possible projects range from transforming a TV remote control into a robot controller to building a robot from a drink cooler. You'll want to build them all; the author's enthusiasm for robotics is contagious!

These proceedings showcase the best papers selected from more than 500 submissions, and introduce readers to the latest research topics and developmental trends in the theory and application of MMESE. The integrated research topic Man-Machine-Environment System Engineering (MMESE) was first established in China by Professor Shengzhao Long in 1981, with direct support from one of the greatest modern Chinese scientists, Xuesen Qian. In a letter to Long from October 22nd, 1993, Qian wrote: "You have created a very important modern science and technology in China!" MMESE studies the optimum combination of man-machine-environment systems. In this system, "man" refers to the people in the workplace (e.g. operators, decision-makers); "machine" is the general name for any object controlled by man (including tools, machinery, computers, systems and technologies), and "environment" describes the specific working conditions under which man and machine interact (e.g. temperature, noise, vibration, hazardous gases, etc.). The three main goals of optimizing man-machine-environment systems are to ensure safety, efficiency and economy. These proceedings present interdisciplinary studies on concepts and methods from physiology, psychology, system engineering, computer science, environmental science, management, education, and other related disciplines. They offer a valuable resource for all researchers and professionals whose work involves interdisciplinary areas touching on MMESE subjects.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) fascinates, challenges and disturbs us. There are many voices in society that predict drastic changes that may come as a consequence of AI - a possible apocalypse or Eden on earth. However, only a few people truly understand what AI is, what it can do and what its limitations are. Understanding Artificial Intelligence explains, through a straightforward narrative and amusing illustrations, how AI works. It is written for a non-specialist reader, adult or adolescent, who is interested in AI but is missing the key to understanding how it works. The author demystifies the creation of the so-called "intelligent" machine and explains the different methods that are used in AI. It presents new possibilities offered by algorithms and the difficulties that researchers, engineers and users face when building and using such algorithms. Each chapter allows the reader to discover a new aspect of AI and to become fully aware of the possibilities offered by this rich field.

Mobile robotics is a cutting-edge research topic, which until recently has primarily focused on issues such as the design of controllers and robot hardware. The field is now ready to embrace theoretical methods from dynamical systems theory, statistics and system identification to produce quantitative analyses and computer models of robot-environment interaction.

Scientific Methods in Mobile Robotics: Quantitative Analysis of Agent Behaviour is a decisive step towards a theoretical understanding of the operation of autonomous mobile robotics. This book presents cutting-edge research results on the application of chaos theory, parametric and non-parametric statistics and dynamical systems theory in mobile robotics. It presents foundations of a theory of mobile robotics by providing a quantitative analysis of the interaction between robot, task and environment. Practical examples and case studies show how robot behaviour can be logged, modelled, analysed and interpreted. This new approach will aid the design of controllers, analysis of agent behaviour and the verification of experimental results.

As the first book to apply advanced scientific methods to the growing field of mobile robots, Scientific Methods in Mobile Robotics: Quantitative Analysis of Agent Behaviour will interest researchers, lecturers and post-graduate students in robotics, artificial intelligence and cognitive science.

This book discusses the radical technological changes occurring due to Industry 4.0, with a focus on offering a better understanding of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It also presents a detailed analysis of interdisciplinary knowledge, numerical modeling and simulation, and the application of cyber-physical systems, where information technology and physical devices create synergic systems leading to unprecedented efficiency. The book focuses on industrial applications of automation and robotics. It covers recent developments and trends occurring in both computer-aided manufacturing techniques, as well as computer-aided assembly techniques. Robots using embedded systems and artificial intelligence applications are also covered. Industrial Automation and Robotics: Techniques and Applications offers theoretical results, practical solutions, and guidelines that are valuable for both researchers and those working in the area of engineering.

Robot calibration is the process of enhancing the accuracy of a robot by modifying its control software. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of the theory and implementation of robot calibration using computer vision technology. It is the only book to cover the entire process of vision-based robot calibration, including kinematic modeling, camera calibration, pose measurement, error parameter identification, and compensation. The book starts with an overview of available techniques for robot calibration, with an emphasis on vision-based techniques. It then describes various robot-camera systems. Since cameras are used as major measuring devices, camera calibration techniques are reviewed. Camera-Aided Robot Calibration studies the properties of kinematic modeling techniques that are suitable for robot calibration. It summarizes the well-known Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) modeling convention and indicates the drawbacks of the D-H model for robot calibration. The book develops the Complete and Parametrically Continuous (CPC) model and the modified CPC model, that overcome the D-H model singularities. The error models based on these robot kinematic modeling conventions are presented. No other book available addresses the important, practical issue of hand/eye calibration. This book summarizes current research developments and demonstrates the pros and cons of various approaches in this area. The book discusses in detail the final stage of robot calibration - accuracy compensation - using the identified kinematic error parameters. It offers accuracy compensation algorithms, including the intuitive task-point redefinition and inverse-Jacobian algorithms and more advanced algorithms based on optimal control theory, which are particularly attractive for highly redundant manipulators. Camera-Aided Robot Calibration defines performance indices that are designed for off-line, optimal selection of measurement configurations. It then describes three approaches: closed-form, gradient-based, and statistical optimization. The included case study presents experimental results that were obtained by calibrating common industrial robots. Different stages of operation are detailed, illustrating the applicability of the suggested techniques for robot calibration. Appendices provide readers with preliminary materials for easier comprehension of the subject matter. Camera-Aided Robot Calibration is a must-have reference for researchers and practicing engineers-the only one with all the information!

The IFAC Workshop on Intelligent Components for Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Vehicles (ICASAV '95) was held in Toulouse, France, 25-26 October 1995 and provided academic and industrial researchers from all over the world with an opportunity to discuss their experiences and research results in this field. Areas covered included vehicle dynamics, navigation, localization estimation, driver assistance and energy management.

The author compiles everything a student or experienced developmental engineer needs to know about the supporting technologies associated with the rapidly evolving field of robotics. From the table of contents: Design Considerations * Dead Reckoning * Odometry Sensors * Doppler and Inertial Navigation * Typical Mobility Configurations * Tactile and Proximity Sensing * Triangulation Ranging * Stereo Disparity * Active Triangulation * Active Stereoscopic * Hermies * Structured Light * Known Target Size * Time of Flight * Phase-Shift Measurement * Frequency Modulation * Interferometry * Range from Focus * Return Signal Intensity * Acoustical Energy * Electromagnetic Energy * Optical Energy * Microwave Radar * Collision Avoidance * Guidepath Following * Position-Location Systems * Ultrasonic and Optical Position-Location Systems * Wall, Doorway, andCeiling Referencing * Application-Specific Mission Sensors

This book provides state-of-the-art scientific and engineering research findings and developments in the area of mobile robotics and associated support technologies around the theme of assistive robotics. The book contains peer reviewed articles presented at the CLAWAR 2015 conference. The book contains a comprehensive collection of papers on legged locomotion with numbers of legs from two upward to multi-legs, which includes robots cable of climbing walls, poles, or more complex structures such as continuing the distinctive CLAWAR themes. There are also a strong showing of articles covering human assist devices, notably exoskeletal and prosthetic devices, as well as social robots designed to meet the growing challenges of global ageing population.

The book contains high quality papers presented in conference Recent Advances in Mechanical Infrastructure (ICRAM-2019) held at IITRAM, Ahmedabad, India from 20-21 April, 2019.The topics covered in this book are recent advances in thermal infrastructure, manufacturing infrastructure and infrastructure planning and design.

This book summarizes recent advances in robotics using 3D printers and rapid prototyping as a concept development tool. The book is focused on industrial applications, educational aspects, rehabilitation, and other related topics. In particular, the book is intended to offer the reader a smooth yet deep introduction to the use of 3D printers and rapid prototyping techniques as a solution to robotics and mechatronics problems, highlighting successful case studies.

At the dawn of the new millennium, robotics is undergoing a major transformation in scope and dimension. From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics is rapidly expanding into the challenges of unstructured environments. Interacting with, assi- ing, serving, and exploring with humans, the emerging robots will increasingly touch people and their lives. The goal of the Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) series is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on the basis of their significance and quality. It is our hope that the wider dissemination of research - velopments will stimulate more exchanges and collaborations among the research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing field. The European Robotics Symposium (EUROS) was launched in 2006 as an inter- tional scientific single-track event promoted by EURON, the European Robotics Network linking most of the European research teams since its inception in 2000. Since then, EUROS has found its parental home under STAR, together with the other thematic symposia devoted to excellence in robotics research: FSR, ISER, ISRR, WAFR.

This book deals with the simulation of the mechanical behavior of engineering structures, mechanisms and components. It presents a set of strategies and tools for formulating the mathematical equations and the methods of solving them using MATLAB. For the same mechanical systems, it also shows how to obtain solutions using a different approaches. It then compares the results obtained with the two methods. By combining fundamentals of kinematics and dynamics of mechanisms with applications and different solutions in MATLAB of problems related to gears, cams, and multilink mechanisms, and by presenting the concepts in an accessible manner, this book is intended to assist advanced undergraduate and mechanical engineering graduate students in solving various kinds of dynamical problems by using methods in MATLAB. It also offers a comprehensive, practice-oriented guide to mechanical engineers dealing with kinematics and dynamics of several mechanical systems.

This volume comprises select papers presented at the International Conference on Advances in Manufacturing Technology (ICAMT 2018). It includes contributions from different researchers and practitioners working in the field of advanced manufacturing technology. This book covers diverse topics of contemporary manufacturing technology including material processes, machine tools, cutting tools, robotics and automation, manufacturing systems, optimization technologies, 3D scanning and re-engineering, and 3D printing. Computer applications in design, analysis, and simulation tools for solving manufacturing problems at various levels starting from material designs to complex manufacturing systems are also discussed. This book will be useful for students, researchers, and practitioners working in the field of manufacturing technology.

Morality seems to be irrational. Moral agents spread co-operation - this is good for all, but even better for the amoral. If "the virtuous" finish last, one cannot defend morality as rational. "Artificial Morality" addresses and answers this objection, by showing how to build moral agents that succeed in competition with amoral agents. Professor Danielson's agents deviate from the received theory of rational choice. They are bound by moral principles and communicate their principles to others. The central thesis of the book is that these moral agents are more successful in crucial tests, and therefore rational. Why design agents? Human agents and the situations they create are too complex for an investigation of the most elementary aspects of rationality and morality. Danielson uses instead robots paired in abstract games that model social problems, such as environmental pollution, which reward co-operators but even more those that benefit from others' constraint. It is shown that virtuous, not vicious, robots do better in these virtual games. This book should be of interest to those working in the fields of philosophy, artificial intelligence and computer studies.

Morality seems to be irrational. Moral agents spread co-operation - this is good for all, but even better for the amoral. If "the virtuous" finish last, one cannot defend morality as rational. "Artificial Morality" addresses and answers this objection, by showing how to build moral agents that succeed in competition with amoral agents. Professor Danielson's agents deviate from the received theory of rational choice. They are bound by moral principles and communicate their principles to others. The central thesis of the book is that these moral agents are more successful in crucial tests, and therefore rational. Why design agents? Human agents and the situations they create are too complex for an investigation of the most elementary aspects of rationality and morality. Danielson uses instead robots paired in abstract games that model social problems, such as environmental pollution, which reward co-operators but even more those that benefit from others' constraint. It is shown that virtuous, not vicious, robots do better in these virtual games. "Artificial Morality" is inspired by artificial intelligence. The solution presented to the problem of rationality and morality is construct

This proceeding is a compilation of selected papers from the 8th International Workshop of Advanced Manufacturing and Automation (IWAMA 2018), held in Changzhou, China on September 25 - 26, 2018. Most of the topics are focusing on novel techniques for manufacturing and automation in Industry 4.0 and smart factory. These contributions are vital for maintaining and improving economic development and quality of life. The proceeding will assist academic researchers and industrial engineers to implement the concepts and theories of Industry 4.0 in industrial practice, in order to effectively respond to the challenges posed by the 4th industrial revolution and smart factory.

A multiplicity of techniques and angles of attack are incorporated in 18 contributions describing recent developments in the structure, architecture, programming, control, and implementation of industrial robots capable of performing intelligent action and decision making. Annotation copyright Book

This book provides state of the art scientific and engineering research findings and developments in the area of mobile robotics and associated support technologies. The book contains peer reviewed articles presented at the CLAWAR 2011 conference. A great deal of interest is vested in the use of robots outside the factory environment. The CLAWAR conference series, established as a high profile international event, acts as a platform for dissemination of research and development findings and supports the trend to address current interest in mobile robotics to meet the needs of mankind in various segments of the society. Field robotics aims to bring technologies that allow autonomous systems to assist and/or replace humans performing tasks that are difficult, repetitive, unpleasant, or take place in hazardous environments. These robotic systems will bring sociological and economic benefits through improved human safety, increased equipment utilisation, reduced maintenance costs and increased production.