Computational Principles of Mobile Robotics

This book covers the computational methods of programming involved in designing the locomotive, sensing and reasoning systems that enable a robot to perform tasks that involve motion and behavior. It deals with the problems of sensing, navigation, position estimation, and exploration. It illustrates key technologies of current and historical significance.

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This is a textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in the field of mobile robotics. Emphasising computation and algorithms, the authors address a range of strategies for enabling robots to perform tasks that involve motion and behavior. The book is divided into three major sections: locomotion, sensing, and reasoning. It concentrates on wheeled and legged mobile robots, but discusses a variety of other propulsion systems. Kinematic models are developed for many of the more common locomotive strategies. It presents algorithms for both visual and nonvisual sensor technologies, including sonar, vision, and laser scanners. In the section on reasoning, the authors offer a thorough examination of planning and the issues related to spatial representation. They emphasize the problems of navigation, pose estimation, and autonomous exploration. The book is a comprehensive treatment of the field, offering a discussion of state-of-the art methods with illustrations of key technologies.