The 5th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics (FSR05) was held in Port Douglas, Australia, on 29th - 31st July 2005, and brought together the worlds' leading experts in field and service automation. The goal of the conference was to report and encourage the latest research and practical results towards the use of field and service robotics in the community with particular focus on proven technology. The conference provided a forum for researchers, professionals and robot manufacturers to exchange up-to-date technical knowledge and experience.

Field robots are robots which operate in outdoor, complex, and dynamic environments. Service robots are those that work closely with humans, with particular applications involving indoor and structured environments. There are a wide range of topics presented in this issue on field and service robots including: Agricultural and Forestry Robotics, Mining and Exploration Robots, Robots for Construction, Security & Defence Robots, Cleaning Robots, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles and Autonomous Flying Robots.

This meeting was the fifth in the series and brings FSR back to Australia where it was first held. FSR has been held every 2 years, starting with Canberra 1997, followed by Pittsburgh 1999, Helsinki 2001 and Lake Yamanaka 2003.

Inhalt

Keynotes.- Container Port Automation.- The Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton.- Outdoor Vision.- Autonomous Helicopter Tracking and Localization Using a Self-Surveying Camera Array.- Visual Motion Estimation for an Autonomous Underwater Reef Monitoring Robot.- Road Obstacle Detection Using Robust Model Fitting.- Real-Time Regular Polygonal Sign Detection.- Distinctness Analysis on Natural Landmark Descriptors.- Bimodal Active Stereo Vision.- Navigation.- A System for Automatic Marking of Floors in Very Large Spaces.- Development of an Angular Characterisation System for Cooperative UAV / UGV Applications.- Topological Global Localization for Subterranean Voids.- A Navigation System for Automated Loaders in Underground Mines.- Mapping and Localization.- Outdoor Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping Using RatSLAM.- Implementation Issues and Experimental Evaluation of D-SLAM.- Scan-SLAM: Combining EKF-SLAM and Scan Correlation.- A Non-rigid Approach to Scan Alignment and Change Detection Using Range Sensor Data.- An Efficient Extension of Elevation Maps for Outdoor Terrain Mapping.- Online Reconstruction of Vehicles in a Car Park.- Wavelet Occupancy Grids: A Method for Compact Map Building.- Further Results with Localization and Mapping Using Range from Radio.- Experiments with Robots and Sensor Networks for Mapping and Navigation.- Planning.- Applying a New Model for Machine Perception and Reasoning in Unstructured Environments.- Constrained Motion Planning in Discrete State Spaces.- Vision-Based Grasping Points Determination by Multifingered Hands.- Embodied Social Interaction for Service Robots in Hallway Environments.- Intentional Motion Online Learning and Prediction.- Design.- Design and Locomotion of a Semi-passive Mobile Platform.- Wheel Control Based on Body Configuration for Step-Climbing Vehicle.- Ball-Shaped Robots: An Historical Overview and Recent Developments at TKK.- Development of a Water-Hydraulic Self-Propelled Robotic Drill for Underground Mining.- A Wearable GUI for Field Robots.- Design and Implementation of Machine Control Systems with Modern Software Development Tools.- Long-Term Activities for Autonomous Mobile Robot.- Telepresence.- Synthesized Scene Recollection for Robot Teleoperation.- Development of a Networked Robotic System for Disaster Mitigation - Test Bed Experiments for Remote Operation over Rough Terrain and High Resolution 3D Geometry Acquisition.- Aerial Robots.- Towards Intelligent Miniature Flying Robots.- Design of an Ultra-lightweight Autonomous Solar Airplane for Continuous Flight.- Control and Guidance for a Tail-Sitter Unmanned Air Vehicle.- The Development of a Real-Time Modular Architecture for the Control of UAV Teams.- Off-Road.- Trajectory Generation on Rough Terrain Considering Actuator Dynamics.- Results in Combined Route Traversal and Collision Avoidance.- Adaptation to Rough Terrain by Using COF Estimation on a Quadruped Vehicle.- Multi-solution Problem for Track-Terrain Interaction Dynamics and Lumped Soil Parameter Identification.- 3D Position Tracking in Challenging Terrain.- Efficient Braking Model for Off-Road Mobile Robots.- Applications.- Autonomous Excavation Using a Rope Shovel.- Automated Inspection System for Large Underground Concrete Pipes Under Operating Conditions.- An Autonomous Weeding Robot for Organic Farming.- V Shape Path Generation for Loading Operation by Wheel Loader.- Development of an Autonomous Forest Machine for Path Tracking.