Designs And Prototypes Of Mobile Robots

For several decades now, mobile robots have been integral to the development of new robotic systems for new applications, even in nontechnical areas. Mobile robots have already been developed for such uses as industrial automation, medical care, space exploration, demining operations, surveillance, entertainment, museum guides and many other industrial and non-industrial applications. In some cases these products are readily available on the market. A considerable amount of literature is also available; not all of which pertains to technical issues, as listed in the chapters of this book. Mobile robots will always be further developed with the goal of performing locomotion tasks, those related to movement and interaction with the surrounding environment, within which a task can be fulfilled even without the supervision of human operators. The complexity of locomotion requires different solutions both for design and operation. As such, a large variety of mobile robots and mobile robotic systems has been, and still can be, developed. In fact, considerable advancements have been achieved within the last few decades, and a vast amount of literature is already available detailing a large variety of mobile robots. The literature emphasizes design issues, operational success, procedures and algorithms that can be used specifically for these applications, as opposed to general approaches for a variety of cases. One key point for mobile robots is interaction with the environment in which the mobile robot moves and corresponding solutions can determine the success or failure of the motion. Indeed, the mechanical design is not very often considered a critical issue, but rather it is often included as an issue in the overall design of mechanical solutions within servo-controlled operation and environment interaction. A second important issue is the acceptance of robotic systems and the corresponding psychological aspects, when robots are proposed to operators and users in fields with very low levels of technical means in their current work practice. These two subjects are the core of the discussions in this book and its companion volume, Mobile Robots for Dynamic Environments (available separately from ASME Press), which aims to illustrate not only the potential but also the problems for the dissemination of mobile robots and mobile robotic systems in all human activities with service aims. Authors have been invited from all over the world and chapters have been selected after review as to approach the most challenging aspects and applications of mobile robotic systems, with the aim to survey the current state-of-the-art and its future potential. We believe that readers will enjoy this book and its companion, and will utilize the knowledge gained with satisfaction and will be assisted by its content in their interdisciplinary work for engineering developments of mobile robots, in both old and new applications. This book and its companion can be used as a graduate level course books or guide books for the practicing engineer who is working on a specific problem which is described in one of the chapters.

For several decades now, mobile robots have been integral to the development of new robotic systems for new applications, even in nontechnical areas. Mobile robots have already been developed for such uses as industrial automation, medical care, space exploration, demining operations, surveillance, entertainment, museum guides and many other industrial and non-industrial applications. In some cases these products are readily available on the market. A considerable amount of literature is also available; not all of which pertains to technical issues, as listed in the chapters of this book. Mobile robots will always be further developed with the goal of performing locomotion tasks, those related to movement and interaction with the surrounding environment, within which a task can be fulfilled even without the supervision of human operators. The complexity of locomotion requires different solutions both for design and operation. As such, a large variety of mobile robots and mobile robotic systems has been, and still can be, developed. In fact, considerable advancements have been achieved within the last few decades, and a vast amount of literature is already available detailing a large variety of mobile robots. The literature emphasizes design issues, operational success, procedures and algorithms that can be used specifically for these applications, as opposed to general approaches for a variety of cases. One key point for mobile robots is interaction with the environment in which the mobile robot moves and corresponding solutions can determine the success or failure of the motion. Indeed, the mechanical design is not very often considered a critical issue, but rather it is often included as an issue in the overall design of mechanical solutions within servo-controlled operation and environment interaction. A second important issue is the acceptance of robotic systems and the corresponding psychological aspects, when robots are proposed to operators and users in fields with very low levels of technical means in their current work practice. These two subjects are the core of the discussions in this book and its companion volume, Designs and Prototypes of Mobile Robots (available separately from ASME Press), which aims to illustrate not only the potential but also the problems for the dissemination of mobile robots and mobile robotic systems in all human activities with service. Authors have been invited from all over the world and chapters have been selected after review as to approach the most challenging aspects and applications of mobile robotic systems, with the aim to survey the current state-of-the-art and its future potential. We believe that readers will enjoy this book and its companion, and will utilize the knowledge gained with satisfaction and will be assisted by its content in their interdisciplinary work for engineering developments of mobile robots, in both old and new applications. This book and its companion can be used as a graduate level course books or guide books for the practicing engineer who is working on a specific problem which is described in one of the chapters. We are grateful to the authors of the chapters for their valuable contributions and for preparing their manuscripts on time. Also acknowledged is the professional assistance by the staff of ASME Press and especially by Dr. Vladimir Vantsevich, who has enthusiastically supported this book project, as the Robotics Series Editor.

Designing Autonomous Mobile Robots introduces the reader to the fundamental concepts of this complex field. The author addresses all the pertinent topics of the electronic hardware and software of mobile robot design, with particular emphasis on the more difficult problems of control, navigation, and sensor interfacing. Covering topics such as advanced sensor fusion, control systems for a wide array of application sensors and instrumentation, and fuzzy logic applications, this volume is essential reading for engineers undertaking robotics projects as well as undergraduate and graduate students studying robotic engineering, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. Its state-of-the-art treatment of core concepts in mobile robotics helps and challenges readers in exploring new avenues in an exciting field. Authored by a well-known pioneer of mobile robotics Learn how to approach the design of and complex control system with confidence

As a segment of the broader science of automation, robotics has achieved tremendous progress in recent decades due to the advances in supporting technologies such as computers, control systems, cameras and electronic vision, as well as micro and nanotechnology. Prototyping a design helps in determining system parameters, ranges, and in structuring an overall better system. Robotics is one of the industrial design fields in which prototyping is crucial for improved functionality. Prototyping of Robotic Systems: Applications of Design and Implementation provides a framework for conceptual, theoretical, and applied research in robotic prototyping and its applications. Covering the prototyping of various robotic systems including the complicated industrial robots, the tiny and delicate nanorobots, medical robots for disease diagnosis and treatment, as well as the simple robots for educational purposes, this book is a useful tool for those in the field of robotics prototyping and as a general reference tool for those in related fields.

Mobile robots have been increasingly applied in many different scenarios, such as space exploration and search and rescue, where the robots are required to travel over uneven terrain while outdoors. This book provides a new framework and the related algorithms for designing autonomous mobile robotic systems in such unknown outdoor environments.

At first glance, a book on "Design by Composition for Rapid Prototyping" may seem out of place in a series on Robotics. However, this work has a couple of strong connections to the field of robotics and the robotics community, and I am delighted to introduce it to the series. The first connection is the motivation behind Binnard's work. Michael Binnard came to Stanford after having done his Masters thesis at the M.LT. Artificial Intelligence Lab, where he designed and built small walking robots, such as Boadicea (http://www.ai.mit.eduJprojects/boadicea/).At M.LT. he observed first-hand how difficult it is to align, connect and support standard actuators, sensors, and processors in small mobile robots. Figure lea) below shows how complicated it is just to connect a simple motor to one link of a robot leg using conventional methods. Surely there had to be a better way! Shape deposition manufacturing, an emerging rapid prototyping process, offered a possible solution. Actuators, sensors, processors and other components could be embedded directly into almost arbitrary three-dimensional shapes, without any of the fasteners and couplings that complicate the design in Figure lea). The process makes it possible to construct integrated robotic mechanisms, such as the example shown in Figure 1 (b) and the additional examples found in Chapters 7 and 8 of this monograph.

The aim of this book is to encompass progresses of mobile robotics and associated technologies applied for multi-robot systems' design and development. Design of control system is a complicated matter, which needs the application of information technologies to integrate the robots into a sole network. Human-robot interface becomes a challenging task, particularly when we try to employ smart methodologies for brain signal processing. Several advancements in path planning and navigations, inclusive of parallel programming, can be seen and generated. Electrophysiological signals can be utilized to control distinct devices like cars, video games, wheelchairs, etc. Training of the mobile robot operators is an extremely challenging task due to various factors associated with execution of distinct tasks. The book will appeal to a broad range of readers including veteran researchers as well as scientists.

Mobile Robots and Embedded Systems are presented in this unique book at an introductory to intermediate level. It is structured in three parts, dealing with Embedded Systems (hardware and software design, actuators, sensors, PID control, multitasking), Mobile Robot Design (driving, balancing, walking, and flying robots), and Mobile Robot Applications (Mapping, Robot Soccer, Genetic Algorithms, Neural Networks, Behavior-based systems, and Simulation). The book is written as a text for courses in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, IT, or Mechatronics, as well as a guide for robot hobbyists and researchers.