Robotics is undergoing a major transformation in scope and dimension. From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics is rapidly expanding into human en- ronments and vigorously engaged in its new challenges. Interacting with, assi- ing, serving, and exploring with humans, the emerging robots will increasingly touch people and their lives. Beyond its impact on physical robots, the body of knowledge robotics has p- duced is revealing a much wider range of applications reaching across diverse research areas and scientific disciplines, such as: biomechanics, haptics, neuros- ences, virtual simulation, animation, surgery, and sensor networks among others. In return, the challenges of the new emerging areas are proving an abundant source of stimulation and insights for the field of robotics. It is indeed at the int- section of disciplines that the most striking advances happen. The Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is devoted to bringing to the research community the latest advances in the robotics field on the basis of their significance and quality. Through a wide and timely dissemination of critical - search developments in robotics, our objective with this series is to promote more exchanges and collaborations among the researchers in the community and c- tribute to further advancements in this rapidly growing field.

Mobile Robotics offers comprehensive coverage of the essentials of the field suitable for both students and practitioners. Adapted from Alonzo Kelly's graduate and undergraduate courses, the content of the book reflects current approaches to developing effective mobile robots. Professor Kelly adapts principles and techniques from the fields of mathematics, physics, and numerical methods to present a consistent framework in a notation that facilitates learning and highlights relationships between topics. This text was developed specifically to be accessible to senior level undergraduates in engineering and computer science, and includes supporting exercises to reinforce the lessons of each section. Practitioners will value Kelly's perspectives on practical applications of these principles. Complex subjects are reduced to implementable algorithms extracted from real systems wherever possible, to enhance the real-world relevance of the text.