This carefully edited volume is the outcome of the eleventh edition of the Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR), which is the premier venue showcasing cutting edge research in algorithmic robotics. The eleventh WAFR, which was held August 3-5, 2014 at Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey continued this tradition. This volume contains extended versions of the 42 papers presented at WAFR. These contributions highlight the cutting edge research in classical robotics problems (e.g. manipulation, motion, path, multi-robot and kinodynamic planning), geometric and topological computation in robotics as well novel applications such as informative path planning, active sensing and surgical planning. This book - rich by topics and authoritative contributors - is a unique reference on the current developments and new directions in the field of algorithmic foundations.

Money is an important instrument of calculation: as a unit of account and means of payment, it serves the purpose of exchange. Yet, it is increasingly becoming itself an object of exchange and calculation on financial markets, which tend less to the production and exchange of real goods. The question therefore is: has the economy lost its measure?

Algorithms are a fundamental component of robotic systems: they control or reason about motion and perception in the physical world. They receive input from noisy sensors, consider geometric and physical constraints, and operate on the world through imprecise actuators. The design and analysis of robot algorithms therefore raises a unique combination of questions in control theory, computational and differential geometry, and computer science.

This book contains the proceedings from the 2006 Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics. This biannual workshop is a highly selective meeting of leading researchers in the field of algorithmic issues related to robotics. The 32 papers in this book span a wide variety of topics: from fundamental motion planning algorithms to applications in medicine and biology, but they have in common a foundation in the algorithmic problems of robotic systems.

This new book by two leading economists is a far-reaching analysis of the role and organization of the financial system in the aftermath of the economic crisis. The authors argue that the financial markets, as currently organized, hinder genuine market transactions and therefore harm the economy, along with any chance of sustained recovery. Despite the crisis, the power of the financial markets has continued to grow. Far from being subjected to major restructuring or regulation, they continue to rule largely unchecked - laying down economic policies, deposing governments, disrupting social contracts and reshaping international alliances. The time has come to think through more radical proposals for reform - to save other markets from the overwhelming power of the one market that has come to dominate them all, the financial market. Through a detailed examination of specific measures - from policies aimed at reigning in financial markets to the idea of local currencies that could be used to foster economic development within localities and regions - the authors develop a set of proposals that would help to revitalize markets, free them from the domineering power of finance and re-establish the relationship between creditor and debtor that was severed by the rise of the modern financial system. Building on their very successful work The End of Finance , this new and timely book will appeal to students of economics, politics and sociology as well as to general readers interested in one of the key issues of our time.

This carefully edited volume is the outcome of the eleventh edition of the Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR), which is the premier venue showcasing cutting edge research in algorithmic robotics. The eleventh WAFR, which was held August 3-5, 2014 at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey continued this tradition. This volume contains extended versions of the 42 papers presented at WAFR. These contributions highlight the cutting edge research in classical robotics problems (e.g.  manipulation, motion, path, multi-robot and kinodynamic planning), geometric and topological computation in robotics as well novel applications such as informative path planning, active sensing and surgical planning.  This book - rich by topics and authoritative contributors - is a unique reference on the current developments and new directions in the field of algorithmic foundations.

This new book by two leading economists is a far-reaching analysis of the role and organization of the financial system in the aftermath of the economic crisis. The authors argue that the financial markets, as currently organized, hinder genuine market transactions and therefore harm the economy, along with any chance of sustained recovery. Despite the crisis, the power of the financial markets has continued to grow. Far from being subjected to major restructuring or regulation, they continue to rule largely unchecked - laying down economic policies, deposing governments, disrupting social contracts and reshaping international alliances. The time has come to think through more radical proposals for reform - to save other markets from the overwhelming power of the one market that has come to dominate them all, the financial market. Through a detailed examination of specific measures - from policies aimed at reigning in financial markets to the idea of local currencies that could be used to foster economic development within localities and regions - the authors develop a set of proposals that would help to revitalize markets, free them from the domineering power of finance and re-establish the relationship between creditor and debtor that was severed by the rise of the modern financial system. Building on their very successful work The End of Finance , this new and timely book will appeal to students of economics, politics and sociology as well as to general readers interested in one of the key issues of our time.

Algorithms are a fundamental component of robotic systems: they control or reason about motion and perception in the physical world. They receive input from noisy sensors, consider geometric and physical constraints, and operate on the world through imprecise actuators. The design and analysis of robot algorithms therefore raises a unique combination of questions in control theory, computational and differential geometry, and computer science. This book contains the proceedings from the 2006 Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics. This biannual workshop is a highly selective meeting of leading researchers in the field of algorithmic issues related to robotics. The 32 papers in this book span a wide variety of topics: from fundamental motion planning algorithms to applications in medicine and biology, but they have in common a foundation in the algorithmic problems of robotic systems.

Money is an important instrument of calculation: as a unit of account and means of payment, it serves the purpose of exchange. Yet, it is increasingly becoming itself an object of exchange and calculation on financial markets, which tend less to the production and exchange of real goods. The question therefore is: has the economy lost its measure?

This new book by two distinguished Italian economists is a highly original contribution to our understanding of the origins and aftermath of the financial crisis. The authors show that the recent financial crisis cannot be understood simply as a malfunctioning in the subprime mortgage market: rather, it is rooted in a much more fundamental transformation, taking place over an extended time period, in the very nature of finance.The 'end' or purpose of finance is to be found in the social institutions by which the making and acceptance of promises of payment are made possible - that is, the creation and cancellation of debt contracts within a specified time frame. Amato and Fantacci argue that developments in the modern financial system by which debts are securitized has endangered this fundamental credit/debt structure. The illusion has been created that debts are universally liquid in the sense that they need not be redeemed but can be continually sold on in increasingly extensive global markets. What appears to have reduced the riskiness of default for individual agents has in fact increased the fragility of the system as a whole.The authors trace the origins of this profound transformation backwards in time, not just to the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s and 90s but to the birth of capitalist finance in the mercantile networks of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This long historical perspective and deep analysis of the nature of finance enables the authors to tackle the challenges we face today in a fresh way - not simply by tinkering with existing mechanisms, but rather by asking the more profound question of how institutions might be devised in which finance could fulfil its essential functions.

This new book by two distinguished Italian economists is a highly original contribution to our understanding of the origins and aftermath of the financial crisis. The authors show that the recent financial crisis cannot be understood simply as a malfunctioning in the subprime mortgage market: rather, it is rooted in a much more fundamental transformation, taking place over an extended time period, in the very nature of finance.The 'end' or purpose of finance is to be found in the social institutions by which the making and acceptance of promises of payment are made possible - that is, the creation and cancellation of debt contracts within a specified time frame. Amato and Fantacci argue that developments in the modern financial system by which debts are securitized has endangered this fundamental credit/debt structure. The illusion has been created that debts are universally liquid in the sense that they need not be redeemed but can be continually sold on in increasingly extensive global markets. What appears to have reduced the riskiness of default for individual agents has in fact increased the fragility of the system as a whole.The authors trace the origins of this profound transformation backwards in time, not just to the neoliberal reforms of the 1980s and 90s but to the birth of capitalist finance in the mercantile networks of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This long historical perspective and deep analysis of the nature of finance enables the authors to tackle the challenges we face today in a fresh way - not simply by tinkering with existing mechanisms, but rather by asking the more profound question of how institutions might be devised in which finance could fulfil its essential functions.

"On a Windless Night" takes us full-circle from childhood to lessons learned from older generations to first love and loss to adulthood to the beginning of a new cycle of life. All this told in simple terms set in a country setting that reflects the beauty of nature and the importance of connection. These poems capture the nothing that is everything. Grab a cup of tea, escape to the back porch, read them as the sun sets. Learn that life is sweet. - Charles Watts