A leap forward in the field of robotics

Until now, most of the advances in robotics have taken place in structured environments. Scientists and engineers have designed highly sophisticated robots, but most are still only able to operate and move in predetermined, planned environments designed specifically for the robots and typically at very high cost. This new book takes robotics to the next level by setting forth the theory and techniques needed to achieve robotic motion in unstructured environments. The ability to move and operate in an arbitrary, unplanned environment will...

A study of the principles, methodology and prototypes of sensing skin-like devices and related intelligence and software. "Sensitive skins" are large-area and flexible arrays of sensors integrated onto the entire surface of machines. Sensitive skin will endow these machines with the senses of proximity, touch, pressure, temperature, and chemical/biological agents, thus making possible the use of unsupervised machines in unstructured and unpredictable surroundings. Being transducers producing massive data flow, sensitive skin devices will constitute yet another advance in the information...