Autonomous Robots: From Biological Inspiration to Implementation and Control

Description:

Autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of performing tasks in the world by themselves, without explicit human control. Examples range from autonomous helicopters to Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner. In this book, George Bekey offers an introduction to the science and practice of autonomous robots that can be used both in the classroom and as a reference for industry professionals. He surveys the hardware implementations of more than 300 current systems, reviews some of their application areas, and examines the underlying technology, including control, architectures, learning, manipulation, grasping, navigation, and mapping. Living systems can be considered the prototypes of autonomous systems, and Bekey explores the biological inspiration that forms the basis of many recent developments in robotics. He also discusses robot control issues and the design of control architectures.

After an overview of the field that introduces some of its fundamental concepts, the book presents background material on hardware, control (from both biological and engineering perspectives), software architecture, and robot intelligence. It then examines a broad range of implementations and applications, including locomotion (wheeled, legged, flying, swimming, and crawling robots), manipulation (both arms and hands), localization, navigation, and mapping. The many case studies and specific applications include robots built for research, industry, and the military, among them underwater robotic vehicles, walking machines with four, six, and eight legs, and the famous humanoid robots Cog, Kismet, ASIMO,"and QRIO. The book concludes with reflections on the future of robotics -- the potential benefits as well as the possible dangers that may arise from large numbers of increasingly intelligent and autonomous robots.

George A. Bekey is Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California. He has published over 200 papers and several books in robotics, biomedical engineering, computer simulation, control systems, and human-machine systems. Dr. Bekey is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). He is editor-in-chief of the journal Autonomous Robots and founding editor of IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation.

 

Table of Contents:

Preface	xiii
1	Autonomy and Control in Animals and Robots	1
2	Control and Regulation in Biological Systems	27
3	Fundamental Structural Elements	45
4	Low-Level Robot Control	71
5	Software Architectures for Autonomous Robots	97
6	Robot Learning	125
7	Robot Locomotion: An Overview	185
8	Biped Locomotion	253
9	Locomotion in Animals and Robots with Four, Six, and Eight Legs	285
10	Arm Motion and Manipulation	333
11	Control of Grasping in Human and Robot Hands	363
12	Control of Multiple Robots	391
13	Humanoid Robots	441
14	Localization, Navigation, and Mapping	473
15	The Future of Autonomous Robots	509
	Appendix: Introduction to Linear Feedback Control Systems	519
	References	531
	Author Index	557
	Index	563