This book presents the outcomes of the 12th International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR 2016). WAFR is a prestigious, single-track, biennial international meeting devoted to recent advances in algorithmic problems in robotics. Robot algorithms are an important building block of robotic systems and are used to process inputs from users and sensors, perceive and build models of the environment, plan low-level motions and high-level tasks, control robotic actuators, and coordinate actions across multiple systems. However, developing and analyzing these algorithms raises complex challenges, both theoretical and practical. Advances in the algorithmic foundations of robotics have applications to manufacturing, medicine, distributed robotics, human-robot interaction, intelligent prosthetics, computer animation, computational biology, and many other areas. The 2016 edition of WAFR went back to its roots and was held in San Francisco, California - the city where the very first WAFR was held in 1994. Organized by Pieter Abbeel, Kostas Bekris, Ken Goldberg, and Lauren Miller, WAFR 2016 featured keynote talks by John Canny on "A Guided Tour of Computer Vision, Robotics, Algebra, and HCI," Erik Demaine on "Replicators, Transformers, and Robot Swarms: Science Fiction through Geometric Algorithms," Dan Halperin on "From Piano Movers to Piano Printers: Computing and Using Minkowski Sums," and by Lydia Kavraki on "20 Years of Sampling Robot Motion." Furthermore, it included an Open Problems Session organized by Ron Alterovitz, Florian Pokorny, and Jur van den Berg. There were 58 paper presentations during the three-day event. The organizers would like to thank the authors for their work and contributions, the reviewers for ensuring the high quality of the meeting, the WAFR Steering Committee led by Nancy Amato as well as WAFR's fiscal sponsor, the International Federation of Robotics Research (IFRR), led by Oussama Khatib and Henrik Christensen. WAFR 2016 was an enjoyable and memorable event.

Selected contributions to the Workshop WAFR 2002, held December 15-17, 2002, Nice, France. This fifth biannual Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics focuses on algorithmic issues related to robotics and automation. The design and analysis of robot algorithms raises fundamental questions in computer science, computational geometry, mechanical modeling, operations research, control theory, and associated fields. The highly selective program highlights significant new results such as algorithmic models and complexity bounds. The validation of algorithms, design concepts, or techniques is the common thread running through this focused collection.

This collection features four peer-reviewed reviews on Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications in agriculture. The first chapter reviews developments in the use of AI techniques to improve the functionality of decision support systems in agriculture. It reviews the use of techniques such as data mining, artificial neural networks, Bayesian networks, support vector machines and association rule mining. The second chapter examines how robotic and AI can be used to improve precision irrigation in vineyards. The chapter pays particular attention to robot-assisted precision irrigation delivery (RAPID), a novel system currently being developed and tested at the University of California in the United States. The third chapter reviews the current state of mechanized collection technology, such as the development of harvest-assist platforms, as well as the possibilities of these machines to incorporate artificial vision systems to perform an in-field pre-grading of the product. The final chapter explores the emergence of the automated assessment of plant diseases and traits through new sensor systems, AI and robotics. The chapter then considers the application of these digital technologies in plant breeding, focussing on smart farming and plant phenotyping.

This book presents the outcomes of the 12th International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR 2016). WAFR is a prestigious, single-track, biennial international meeting devoted to recent advances in algorithmic problems in robotics. Robot algorithms are an important building block of robotic systems and are used to process inputs from users and sensors, perceive and build models of the environment, plan low-level motions and high-level tasks, control robotic actuators, and coordinate actions across multiple systems. However, developing and analyzing these algorithms raises complex challenges, both theoretical and practical. Advances in the algorithmic foundations of robotics have applications to manufacturing, medicine, distributed robotics, human-robot interaction, intelligent prosthetics, computer animation, computational biology, and many other areas. The 2016 edition of WAFR went back to its roots and was held in San Francisco, California - the city where the very first WAFR was held in 1994. Organized by Pieter Abbeel, Kostas Bekris, Ken Goldberg, and Lauren Miller, WAFR 2016 featured keynote talks by John Canny on "A Guided Tour of Computer Vision, Robotics, Algebra, and HCI," Erik Demaine on "Replicators, Transformers, and Robot Swarms: Science Fiction through Geometric Algorithms," Dan Halperin on "From Piano Movers to Piano Printers: Computing and Using Minkowski Sums," and by Lydia Kavraki on "20 Years of Sampling Robot Motion." Furthermore, it included an Open Problems Session organized by Ron Alterovitz, Florian Pokorny, and Jur van den Berg. There were 58 paper presentations during the three-day event. The organizers would like to thank the authors for their work and contributions, the reviewers for ensuring the high quality of the meeting, the WAFR Steering Committee led by Nancy Amato as well as WAFR's fiscal sponsor, the International Federation of Robotics Research (IFRR), led by Oussama Khatib and Henrik Christensen. WAFR 2016 was an enjoyable and memorable event.

Selected contributions to the Workshop WAFR 2002, held December 15-17, 2002, Nice, France.

This fifth biannual Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics focuses on algorithmic issues related to robotics and automation. The design and analysis of robot algorithms raises fundamental questions in computer science, computational geometry, mechanical modeling, operations research, control theory, and associated fields. The highly selective program highlights significant new results such as algorithmic models and complexity bounds. The validation of algorithms, design concepts, or techniques is the common thread running through this focused collection.

Since 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 maturityofthe?eldandtheadvancesinitsrelatedtechnologies.Fromapred- inantly 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 cohabit with humans in homes, workplaces, and communities, p- viding 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, neu- sciences, virtual prototyping, 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)isto 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 ?e

Recently the robotics industry celebrated its 60-year anniversary. We have used robots for more than six decades to empower people to do things that are typically dirty, dull and/or dangerous. The industry has progressed significantly over the period from basic mechanical assist systems to fully autonomous cars, environmental monitoring and exploration of outer space. We have seen tremendous adoption of IT technology in our daily lives for a diverse set of support tasks. Through use of robots we are starting to see a new revolution, as we not only will have IT support from tablets, phones, computers but also systems that can physically interact with the world and assist with daily tasks, work, and leisure activities. The "old" robot systems were largely mechanical support systems. Through the gradual availability of inexpensive computing, user interfaces, and sensors it is possible to build robot systems that were difficult to imagine before. The confluence of technologies is enabling a revolution in use and adoption of robot technologies for all aspects of daily life. Thirteen years ago, the process to formulate a roadmap was initiated at the Robotics Science and Systems (RSS) conference in Atlanta. Through support from the Computing Community Consortium (CCC) a roadmap was produced by a group of 120 people from industry and academia. The roadmap has been updated 2013 and 2016 prior to this update. The present document is a summary of the main societal opportunities identified, the associated challenges to deliver desired solutions and a presentation of efforts to be undertaken to ensure that US will continue to be a leader in robotics both in terms of research innovation, adoption of the latest technology, and adoption of appropriate policy frameworks that ensure that the technology is utilized in a responsible fashion.

"A wild ride with a dark side" Kirkus Review What would you do if you were trapped in a novel? Look for your author, of course. That's what Peter does in Peter Cubed. To Peter's chagrin, Ken is a sadistic and self-centered man who's more concerned with his ego than the welfare of his characters. Ken gives Peter Anna, a nymphomaniac, Hasidic Jew, but then taunts him mercilessly with empty promises that he'll someday get laid. Peter's only salvation is to leave the book and try to make it on his own, easier said than done with a psychotic author on his trail.

Kirkus Review: Clinical psychologist Goldberg's first novel explores the twin concepts of outsider status and insanity, with a mathematical twist ... By turns comic and tragic, readers must form their own opinions about what truly constitutes sanity in an insane world. Peter, a habitual peep show user, dreads dirt, fears contamination, and lives each day in strange fantasy and total emotional isolation. By strictly adhering to self-imposed mathematic rituals, he maintains his own orderly - albeit lonely - universe in a chaotic world. One day, he meets John, a lifelong mental patient. From their respective disturbances, they form an odd, but deep, friendship. A literary novel, Peter Squared is both tragic and funny. Through vivid characters and absurd situations, Peter Squared addresses such controversial questions as: Are neglected and abused children better off protected or left alone? Is smoking really bad for you? Does fellatio violate kosher dietary laws?

An interdisciplinary collection of essays on telepistemology-the study of knowledge acquired at a distance. The Robot in the Garden initiates a critical theory of telerobotics and introduces telepistemology, the study of knowledge acquired at a distance. Many of our most influential technologies, the telescope, telephone, and television, were developed to provide knowledge at a distance. Telerobots, remotely controlled robots, facilitate action at a distance. Specialists use telerobots to explore actively environments such as Mars, the Titanic, and Chernobyl. Military personnel increasingly employ reconnaissance drones and telerobotic missiles. At home, we have remote controls for the garage door, car alarm, and television (the latter a remote for the remote). The Internet dramatically extends our scope and reach. Thousands of cameras and robots are now accessible online. Although the role of technical mediation has been of interest to philosophers since the seventeenth century, the Internet forces a reconsideration. As the public gains access to telerobotic instruments previously restricted to scientists and soldiers, questions of mediation, knowledge, and trust take on new significance for everyday life. Telerobotics is a mode of representation. But representations can misrepresent. If Orson Welles's "War of the Worlds" was the defining moment for radio, what will be the defining moment for the Internet? As artists have always been concerned with how representations provide us with knowledge, the book also looks at telerobotics' potential as an artistic medium. The seventeen essays, by leading figures in philosophy, art, history, and engineering, are organized into three sections: Philosophy; Art, History, and Critical Theory; and Engineering, Interface, and System Design. Contributors: Albert Borgmann, Tom Campanella, John Canny, Judith Donath, Hubert Dreyfus, Ken Goldberg, Alvin Goldman, Oliver Grau, Marina Grzinic, Blake Hannaford, Michael Idinopulos, Martin Jay, Eduardo Kac, Machiko Kusahara, Jeff Malpas, Lev Manovich, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Eric Paulos, Catherine Wilson