Designing Autonomous Mobile Robots: Inside the Mind of an Intelligent Machine

Designing Autonomous Mobile Robots introduces the reader to the fundamental concepts of this complex field. The author addresses all the pertinent topics of the electronic hardware and software of mobile robot design, with particular emphasis on the more difficult problems of control, navigation, and sensor interfacing.

Covering topics such as advanced sensor fusion, control systems for a wide array of application sensors and instrumentation, and fuzzy logic applications, this volume is essential reading for engineers undertaking robotics projects as well as undergraduate and graduate students studying robotic engineering, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science. Its state-of-the-art treatment of core concepts in mobile robotics helps and challenges readers in exploring new avenues in an exciting field.

Background Concepts; Measure Twice, Cut Once; The Hardware; The Basics of Real-Time Software (for Mortals); Thinking More Clearly through Fuzzy Logic; Closed Loop Systems, Rabbits and Hounds; Communication Control; Basic Navigation; Dead-Reckoning, the Living Core; Navigation as a Filtering Process; Fear and Caution; Navigation Agents and Arbitration; Hard Navigation vs. Fuzzy Navigation; Becoming Unstuck in Time; Preprogramming vs. Teaching; Command and Control; Diagnostics; That's Strange Behavior for a Major Appliance!; What Happened? The Importance of Logging and Reporting; The Law of Conservation of Defects and the Art of Debugging