A few words about the series "Scientific Fundamentals of Robotics" should be said on the occasion of publication of the present monograph. This six-volume series has been conceived so as to allow the readers to master a contemporary approach to the construction and synthesis of con trol for manipulation obots. The authors' idea was to show how to use correct mathematical models of the dynamics of active spatial mecha nisms for dynamic analysis of robotic systems, optimal design of their mechanical parts based on the accepted criteria and imposed constraints, optimal choice of actuators,...