This monograph focuses on sensor integration in robotics, in particular in robotic manipulation control systems. We consider a mechanical system with multiple degrees of freedom equipped with one or more sensors delivering digital and/or analog sensor signals. There is no question that sensor integration and sensor-based control belong to the dominating domains for the future advancement of robotic systems. Although there has been much research on this objective, there is still one important question that has not been answered yet: If we consider a robot in an arbitrary state of motion, how can we calculate a trajectory, if we want the robot to react instantaneously to unforeseen sensor events?

Klappentext

By the dawn of the new millennium, robotics has undergone a major tra- formation in scope and dimensions. This expansion has been brought about bythematurityofthe?eldandtheadvancesinitsrelatedtechnologies.From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics has been rapidly expanding into the challenges of the human world. The new generation of robots is expected to safely and dependably co-habitat with humans in homes, workplaces, and communities,providingsupportinservices,entertainment,education,heal- care, manufacturing, and assistance. Beyond its impact on physical robots, the body of knowledge robotics has produced is revealing a much wider range of applications reaching across - verse research areas and scienti?c disciplines, such as: biomechanics, haptics, neurosciences, virtual simulation, animation, surgery, and sensor networks among others. In return, the challenges of the new emerging areas are pr- ing an abundant source of stimulation and insights for the ?eld of robotics. It is indeed at the intersection of disciplines that the most striking advances happen. The goal of the series of Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on the basis of their signi?cance and quality. It is our hope that the wider dissemination of research developments will stimulate more exchanges and collaborations among the research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing ?eld.

Inhalt

Literature Survey: Trajectory Generation in and Control of Robotic Systems.- Mathematical Conventions and Problem Formulation.- Solution for One Degree of Freedom.- Solution in Multi-dimensional Space.- On-Line Generation of Homothetic Trajectories.- Hybrid Switched-System Control for Robotic Systems.- Experimental Results and Applications.- Further Discussion.- Summary, Future Work, and Conclusion.