This book presents the results of the second workshop on Neural Adaptive Control Technology, NACT II, held on September 9-10, 1996, in Berlin. The workshop was organised in connection with a three-year European-Union-funded Basic Research Project in the ESPRIT framework, called NACT, a collaboration between Daimler-Benz (Germany) and the University of Glasgow (Scotland).The NACT project, which began on 1 April 1994, is a study of the fundamental properties of neural-network-based adaptive control systems. Where possible, links with traditional adaptive control systems are exploited. A major...

Soft computing is a branch of computing which, unlike hard computing, can deal with uncertain, imprecise and inexact data. The three constituents of soft computing are fuzzy-logic-based computing, neurocomputing, and genetic algorithms. Fuzzy logic contributes the capability of approximate reasoning, neurocomputing offers function approximation and learning capabilities, and genetic algorithms provide a methodology for systematic random search and optimization. These three capabilities are combined in a complementary and synergetic fashion.

This book presents a cohesive set of contributions...

This volume offers a novel framework for solving the path planning problems for robot manipulators. simple and efficient solutions are proposed for the path planning problem based on genetic algorithms. One of the attractive features of genetic algorithms is their ability to solve formidable problems in a robust and straightforward manner. Moreover, genetic algorithms are inherently parallel in nature, which makes them ideal candidates for parallel computing implementations. By combining the robustness of genetic algorithms with the power of parallel computers, this work provides an effective...

There has been considerable research interest in neural network control of robots, and satisfactory results have been obtained in solving some of the special issues associated with the problems of robot control in an "on-and-off" fasion. This text is dedicated to issues on adaptive control of robots based on neural networks. The text has been tailored to give a comprehensive study of robot dynamics, present structured network models for robots, and provide systematic approaches for neural network based adaptive controller design for rigid robots, flexible joint robots, and robots in...

Robots are being used in increasingly complicated and demanding tasks, often in environments that are complex or even hostile. Underwater, space and volcano exploration are just some of the activities that robots are taking part in, mainly because the environments that are being explored are dangerous for humans. Robots can also inhabit dynamic environments, for example to operate among humans, not just in factories, but also taking on more active roles. Recently, for instance, they have made their way into the home entertainment market. Given the variety of situations that robots will be...

This book presents the state of integration of wavelet theory and multiresolution analysis into soft computing. It is the first book on hybrid methods combining wavelet analysis with fuzzy logic, neural networks or genetic algorithms. Much attention is given to new approaches (fuzzy-wavelet) that permit one to develop, using wavelet techniques, linguistically interpretable fuzzy systems from data. The book also introduces the reader to wavelet-based genetic algorithms and multiresolution search. A special place is given to methods that have been implemented in real world applications,...

This work describes recent work on active sensors for mobile robots. An active sensor interacts with its surroundings to supply data on demand for a particular function, gathering and abstracting information according to need rather than acting as a generic data gatherer. Details of the physical operation are hidden. The book deals mainly with active range sensors, which provide rapid information for local planning, describing extraction of two-dimensional features such as lines, corners and cylinders to reconstruct a plan of a building. It is structured according to the physical principles...

Decision making and control are two fields with distinct methods for solving problems, and yet they are closely related. This text bridges the gap between decision making and control in the field of fuzzy decisions and fuzzy control, and discusses various ways in which fuzzy decision making methods can be applied to systems modelling and control. Fuzzy decision making is a powerful paradigm for dealing with human expert knowledge when one is designing fuzzy model-based controllers. The authors hope that the combination of fuzzy decision making and fuzzy control that they present here will...

A practical approach to the modelling and computation of real-world systems. Multibody dynamics, planar and spatial modelling, and numerical methods are all pursued to obtain information about the behaviour of various dynamical systems. Each study presents the method of modelling and the ensuing differential equations governing the system behaviour. Integration of the equations yields results which are carefully discussed and which indicate how useful information may be obtained from the study. The studies include planar mechanisms, heavy equipment, automobile crash simulation and a spatial...

This work highlights the various types of defects commonly found on building facades under tropical conditions. The facade elements discussed include natural stone, glass, metal sheeting, plaster and tiling. Causes of defects, such as poor workmanship, are evaluated.