Advanced Robotics & Intelligent Machines

Advanced robotics' describes the use of sensor-based robotic devices which exploit powerful computers to achieve the high levels of functionality that begin to mimic intelligent human behaviour. The object of this book is to summarise developments in the base technologies, survey recent applications and highlight new advanced concepts which will influence future progress. I. Technologies (Recent developments in advanced robotics and intelligent systems; Machine intelligence - architectures, controllers and applications; Advanced control systems for robotic arms; Intelligent gripping systems; Force feedback control in robots applied to decommissioning; Tele-presence control of robots; Sensing and sensor management for planning); II Applications (Robotics in the nuclear industry; Robots in surgery; Intelligent autonomous systems for cars; Walking machine technology; Handling of flexible materials in automation; Robotics in food manufacturing; Robotic milking; Error-free semiconductor wafer handling); III Advanced concepts and procedures (The concept of robot society and its utilisation; Miniature and microrobotics; Characteristics of robot behavior; A behaviour synthesis architecture for co-operant mobile robots; Co-operant behaviour in multiple manipulators; Neural networks in automation procedures; Parallel processing, neural networks and genetic algorithms for real-time robot control); Index.