Product Description
"Manipulation" refers to a variety of physical changes made to the world around us. Mechanics of Robotic Manipulation addresses one form of robotic manipulation, moving objects, and the various processes involved--grasping, carrying, pushing, dropping, throwing, and so on. Unlike most books on the subject, it focuses on manipulation rather than manipulators. This attention to processes rather than devices allows a more fundamental approach, leading to results that apply to a broad range of devices, not just robotic arms.The book draws both on classical mechanics and on classical planning, which introduces the element of imperfect information. The book does not propose a specific solution to the problem of manipulation, but rather outlines a path of inquiry. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Fundamentals of the study of robotic manipulation

This is a beautiful introduction to the field of robotic manipulation, and should be required reading for all graduate students in robotics.Each topic is treated carefully and rigorously.It is only fair to admit that the author was my Ph.D. advisor.

There is a strong emphasis on providing a mental toolkit for reasoning about physical systems.A particular highlight is the selection of graphical methods for thinking about rigid body systems with friction and contact.The careful reader, after working through this book, will be able to reason about mechanical systems with pencil and paper, rather than blind implementations of computer simulations.

The book is dense and requires significant work from the reader.Though there are no prerequisites for the book other than basic calculus, many of the proofs and techniques require some mathematical sophistication and a strong attention to detail to follow.

The book is also specialized, and does not attempt to cover all the details of manipulator design, modeling, or control -- instead, the focus is on the motion of the system being manipulated, which might be much more interesting than the manipulator itself.

For the above reasons, this book is not for everyone, but as a robotics researcher, I have come back to this book over and over again while reviewing papers or thinking about how to quickly model and understand a new system.

Nice for overview, bad for understanding
Mason covers quite a collection of techniques in his book; so as an partial overview of work done on techniques addressing problems of mechanical nature in robotics, this book is reasonable. One can use it as a starting point to find more information on these topics.

However, in my opinion the book is not suitable to gain an understanding of the subject. Mason tries to cover many methods but often fails to clearly describe the essence of techniques. I often find myself reading the same section a number of times to piece together the essence of how a technique works. ... Read more

Product Description
Algorithms that control the computational processes relating sensors and actuators are indispensable for robot navigation and the perception of the world in which they move. Therefore, a deep understanding of how algorithms work to achieve this control is essential for the development of efficient and usable robots for a broad field of applications.

An interdisciplinary group of dedicated scientists gathers every two years to document the progress in algorithmic foundations of robotics. This volume addresses in particular the areas of control theory, computational and differential geometry in robotics, and applications to core problems such as motion planning, navigation, sensor-based planning, and manipulation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A highly recommended addition to robotic studies reference
Algorithms control the computational processes relating the indispensable sensors and actuators required for robot navigation and environmental perception. A clear and thorough understanding of how algorithms work is fundamentally essential for developing efficient and usable robots. Capably edited by Bruce Randall Donald, Kevin Lynch, and Daniela Rus, Algorithmic And Computational Robotics: New Directions is drawn from an interdisciplinary group of scientists who contributed their findings, commentaries, and analysis to the Fourth Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundation of Robotics (WAFR 2000). This superbly presented text covers such issues as geometric algorithms, minimalist and underactuated robotics, robot controllability, manufacturing and assembly, holonomic and nonholonomic motion planning, manipulation planning, sensor-based planning, task-level planning, grasping, navigation, biometrics, medical robots, self-assembly, modular and reconfigurable robots, and distributed manipulation. Algorithmic And Computational Robotics is an impressive and highly recommended addition to robotic studies reference collections and reading lists. ... Read more

Product Description

Paolo Ulivi and David Harland provide in Robotic Exploration of the Solar System a detailed history of unmanned missions of exploration of our Solar System. As in their previous book Lunar Exploration, the subject will be treated wherever possible from an engineering and scientific standpoint. Technical descriptions of the spacecraft, of their mission designs and of instrumentations will be provided. Scientific results will be discussed in considerable depth, together with details of mission management.

The book will be comprehensive, covering missions and results from the 1950s until the present day, and some of the latest missions and their results will appear in a popular science book for the first time. The authors will also cover many unflown missions, providing an indication of the ideas that proved to be unfulfilled at the time but which may still be proven and useful in the future.

Just like Lunar Exploration, this book will use sources only recently made available on the Soviet space program, in addition to some obscure and rarely used references on the European space program. Unflown European projects of the 1960s and 1970s, a subject never before treated, will also be covered.

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent contribution
Robotic Exploration of the Solar System. Part 1.


The best book I read so far on space exploration.

The combination of Harlan the historian, and Ulivi the astronomer, which had alreadyproduced the excellent `lunar exploration' bookmade this an outstanding contribution.

First, this book describes the state of the kwowledge of the solar system just before space exploration beggins. Second, this book is comprehensive, in that it includesus, european and soviet/russian contributions.

They are many detailed descriptions, including all phases of a given mission, even those which were never realized, from planning, launch and the follow-up on results. All aspects are described, financial, political and technical.

The book contains many readeable line drawings, figures, good pictures, some of them quite rare, as well as many little known facts for the average reader, it is an excellent basis for those who are looking for a global view of this part of the history of science.

P. Haubrechts


... Read more

Product Description
Create larger and more useful mobile robots! Ideal for serious hobbyists, Applied Robotics II begins by discussing PMDC motor operation and criteria for selecting drive, arm, hand and neck motors. Subsequent chapters delve into complex topics, from rolling platform design considerations to neural networks and more. Detailed instructions for building specific systems plus in-depth exploration of artificial intelligence (AI), vision and other advanced concepts are included. Instructive illustrations, schematics, part numbers and sources are also provided, making this book a ômustö for advanced builders with a keen interest in moving from simple reflexes to autonomous, AI-based robots. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Response from the Author
I hope responding to a review isn't in poor taste, but heck, here's my comment.I put the same "star" count as the comment I am commenting on.

Mr. Newman is correct, the arm project is difficult, I can't deny it.It could *probably* be done with a hacksaw, a file, and a drillpress, but I would hate to try that.I made this arm using a $500 manual mill from Grizzley.

As for code for AI, yes, that would have been great in this book!Alas, time and space impose practical limitations.Keep your eyes peeled for a book that makes up for this deficiency next year.

A book at odds with itself.
The first part of the book involves building a robot and a robot arm. Unlike most robotics books, there are many exact dimensions which would be nice if I had an automated metal cutter. I don't, so I won't be building that anytime soon. I think it would have been nice if the author was to offer a kit of parts for the arm.

One interesting thing is that the author chooses both new components and repurposed components (screwdriver motors) for his projects. I like it because sometimes spending the money for new stuff is money well spent, and sometimes searching for inexpensive substitutes is worth it.

However, when the author talks about robotic vision he stops being practical and goes all theoretical. Now, don't get me wrong: his explanation of certain types of neural networks is one of the most clear I've seen, but there is no code. I expected to see at least enough code to manuever a robot around a room. On the other hand, there are *many* good ideas.

All in all, the book was worth both paying for and reading.

Long-anticipated follow-up to Applied Robotics
This book contains tons of useful, practical information on robot controllers, platforms, drive systems, programming , and even includes some step-by-step instructions for building a robotic arm. Edwin is the creator of FUZBOL, a programming language specifically designed for robotics controllers.

I own the original, and this book appears to be 99% new content, not a re-hash of the original. Well worth the price.

A must-have for any serious robotics enthusiast! ... Read more

Product Description
E-commerce increasingly provides opportunities for autonomous bidding agents: computer programs that bid in electronic markets without direct human intervention. Automated bidding strategies for an auction of a single good with a known valuation are fairly straightforward; designing strategies for simultaneous auctions with interdependent valuations is a more complex undertaking. This book presents algorithmic advances and strategy ideas within an integrated bidding agent architecture that have emerged from recent work in this fast-growing area of research in academia and industry.

The authors analyze several novel bidding approaches that developed from the Trading Agent Competition (TAC), held annually since 2000. The benchmark challenge for competing agents—to buy and sell multiple goods with interdependent valuations in simultaneous auctions of different types—encourages competitors to apply innovative techniques to a common task. The book traces the evolution of TAC and follows selected agents from conception through several competitions, presenting and analyzing detailed algorithms developed for autonomous bidding.

Autonomous Bidding Agents provides the first integrated treatment of methods in this rapidly developing domain of AI. The authors—who introduced TAC and created some of its most successful agents—offer both an overview of current research and new results. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

well, it's not eBay
The field of auction theory has been heavily developed. With intricate rules for specialised auctions. Often resulting in a strong dose of experiments and theoretical analysis. The book gives some recent instances. Where these are typically characterised by items being offered (or wanted) in interdependent markets. Hence the need for contingency bidding.

The practical instantiations include the selling of hotel rooms and entertainment events. The complexities are such that the concept of bidding agents is used. Where agents are then assumed to have some optimal strategy. Much of the book revolves around finding what these strategies might be. ... Read more

Product Description
As the use and relevance of robotics for countless scientific purposes grows all the time, research into the many diverse elements of the subject becomes ever more important and in demand. This volume examines in depth the most topical, complex issues of modelling and identification in robotics. The book is divided into three main parts. The !first part is devoted to robot dynamics modelling and identification of robot and load parameters, incorporating friction torques, discussing identification schemes, and presenting simulations and experiment al results of robot and load dynamic parameters identification. A general concept of robot programming language for research and educational purposes is examined and there is a detailed outline of its basic structures along with hardware requirements, which both constitute an open robot controller architecture. Finally a hybrid controller is derived, and several experimental results of this system are outlined. This impressive discussion of the topic covers both the theoretical and practical, illustrated throughout by examples and experimental results, and will be of value to anyone researching or practising within the field of robotics, automation and system i dentification or to control engineers. ... Read more

Product Description
Easy-to-read guide provides directions on integrating personal digital assistants and robots into a single, remote-controlled powerhouse. Discusses innovative concepts and designs, showing how to allow any PDA to communicate with and control a robot; establish a wireless link between a PDA and a robot; and acquire low cost, standard, and easily obtainable components. Softcover. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Makes ALOT of sense - great help
I was interested in electronics and robotics so I purchased this book. The flow of the book is a little choppy but I must say that the information helped me win high school science fairs and I am now studying electrical engineering at university! The support site is great and the author was very helpful. The well writen software projects I downloaded from the support site helped my dive into the project and allowed me to get a solid understanding of PalmOS, windows CE development, circuit fabrication and PIC programming. The project does required that you purchase a PIC programmer but if you are to pursue a career in robotics it is well worth it! Thank You!

Makes no sense.
I had high expectations for this book, assuming that it would start out slow, with basic information, then pick up from there. This is far from the truth. The book slams you from the sixth page (literally) with seemingly irrelevant information about computer architecture, accompanied with confusing diagrams. As all of the other reviewers mentioned, the book is littered with a copied mismatch of pictures and diagrams. The book does not follow a logical thought process, nor is any of the information practical. Unless you have a BSCmpE, don't buy this book.

Recipe for a Robot
Following discussions with the author, I have amended this review.

As a University Lecturer, I was disappointed with this book
because it contains large sections of material copied from
datasheets and web sites without proper references. We try to
teach our students to be ethical, and not to simply cut and
paste from the Internet without references. The author assures
me that permission was obtained from Microsoft, Intel,
Microchip, Sharp, etc. to re-publish their material.

It is not a text for a beginner if you want to learn about
robotics or how to design your own circuits and program
embedded systems. For instance, it assumes that you can already
program in C.

However, it does contain detailed instructions for building a
robot that can be controlled using the Infra Red port on a PDA.
If you don't mind making your own circuit board, then this
might be the book for you, but you really need some basic
background in electronics and computers if you intend to build
this robot. If you treat it as a recipe, and try to learn from
the exercise, then you might find it useful.

Good concept - poorly executed
I really had high expectations for this book.I was looking for something that would provide an alternative to the PPRK-based "Ultimate Palm Robot" book.And this book does provide what appears to be a workable, if not very robust robot design that you can wirelessly link your Palm or WinCE PDA to.Unfortunately, the vast majority of the book is cut-and-paste data sheets - including some of the marketeering hype.This makes for a very disjointed read since the style of the book changes with each new data sheet and many concepts and terms are not explained well.As a result, this would probably be a difficult book for someone new to robotics.I'm still not sure that the schematic for the robot in this book was worth $20 - $30.I would suggest "Programming and Customizing the OOPIC Controller" by Dennis Clark as an alternative to this book.The OOPIC is easy to work with and the chapter describing interfacing the OOPIC to a Palm device is very well written.

good intro, but many typos and unreferenced technical specs
Like janek243, I was disappointed that so much of the book
was copied (seemingly verbatim) from technical specs on-line,
though the sources didn't seem to be referenced.It's fairly
obvious where these sections start and end, because they lack
the typos and grammatical problems of much of the rest of
the book.

Despite its flaws, I recommend it to anyone who, like me,
is interested in interfacing their iPaq (or Palm) with hardware.
The book has given me several pointers to other material and
manufacturer websites.I'm glad I bought it; I just wish it
had a higher signal-to-noise ratio. ... Read more

Product Description

Many computer scientists, engineers, applied mathematicians, and physicists use geometry theory and geometric computing methods in the design of perception-action systems, intelligent autonomous systems, and man-machine interfaces. This handbook brings together the most recent advances in the application of geometric computing for building such systems, with contributions from leading experts in the important fields of neuroscience, neural networks, image processing, pattern recognition, computer vision, uncertainty in geometric computations, conformal computational geometry, computer graphics and visualization, medical imagery, geometry and robotics, and reaching and motion planning. For the first time, the various methods are presented in a comprehensive, unified manner.

This handbook is highly recommended for postgraduate students and researchers working on applications such as automated learning; geometric and fuzzy reasoning; human-like artificial vision; tele-operation; space maneuvering; haptics; rescue robots; man-machine interfaces; tele-immersion; computer- and robotics-aided neurosurgery or orthopedics; the assembly and design of humanoids; and systems for metalevel reasoning.

Product Description
Industrial Robotics has a polarized view throughout the manufacturing sector in the United States. On one hand the robotic automation is a way of life for manufacturers seeking to be globally competitive, as well as reduce the reliance on manual labor to perform redundant tasks. On the other hand, there are the majority of manufacturers that have yet to utilize their first robot. The statistic is often quoted as, 90% of the manufacturers in the United States have yet to use their first robot .

Written by an expert in the field who has year of practical, real-world experience, this unique resource covers a broad spectrum of robotics that can be readily used and applied by education and manufacturing personnel. Additionally, the texts would be most likely written with a theoretical theme. Developed with the intent of being practical and easily applied, Industrial Robotics provides guidance to personnel involved in manufacturing who are thinking about implementing a robotic program. This tool compliments the robotics sales and engineering team that strives to educate end-users about automation when the end user is considering the task of making a significant capital investment in robotic processes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Glaser Nails It
This is a very good read for anyone considering automation in their facility. A lot of very good information as far as implementing robotics while keeping your processes lean, and determining how to identify when automation projects will or will not be successful. ... Read more

Product Description
LEGO MINDSTORMS lets you design and program robots that can do just about anything!
The LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0 is the core set for all MINDSTORMS users, that lets users design and program working robots - limited only by their imagination. Initially designed for users 12 and up, LEGO MINDSTORMS has taken off with LEGO enthusiasts of all ages.
10 Cool LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0 Projects: Amazing Projects You Can Build in Under an Hour provides step-by-step instructions and detailed illustrations for users of all skill levels and proficiencies.

From out of the box to up and running in less than an hour.
8-page color insert. A color insert illustrates the complete projects in full-detail.
Specifically targeted at new users of the LEGO MINDSTORMS RIS 2.0. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Yahoo!
its the correct book for the new mindstorms - alot of the other books we ordered we for the old one

Wrong generation
We got our son a new Mindstorm for Christmas - the NXT.This book was designed for the previous generation of the Mindstorm, so was of no use to us. The description on-line was not clear to us that we were wasting our money.

Whoa
This is the perfect compilation set of fun, and challenging projects which can easily be manipulated for your own robotic tastes. The sources of this book are the masters in the field, and do an astounding job sharing their wealth of knowledge.

Where do they get these people?
Once again Syngres has put together a top notch team of Lego builders. The robots in here are incredible to say the least. I was amazed to see that CS Soh had a hand in this book as I've been a big fan of his LEGO work on the web for some time. I just finished building all of the robots in the prequel to this book for the Star Wars Dark side lego kit when I saw this become available. These are all top notch robots built by people who know their lego robots. They don't beat around the bush-they give you step by step instructions for buidling these robots. They go one step beyond the first book by giving you alternate building instructions for download. I'm going to use this in my high school robotics class. Top notch. ... Read more

Product Description
Accessible to all readers, including students of secondary school and amateur technology enthusiasts, Robotics, Mechatronics, and Artificial Intelligence simplifies the process of finding basic circuits to perform simple tasks, such as how to control a DC or step motor, and provides instruction on creating moving robotic parts, such as an "eye" or an "ear." Though many companies offer kits for project construction, most experimenters want to design and build their own robots and other creatures specific to their needs and goals. With this new book by Newton Braga, hobbyists and experimenters around the world will be able to decide what skills they want to feature in a project and then choose the right "building blocks" to create the ideal results.

In the past few years the technology of robotics, mechatronics, and artificial intelligence has exploded, leaving many people with the desire but not the means to build their own projects. The author's fascination with and expertise in the exciting field of robotics is demonstrated by the range of simple to complex project blocks he provides, which are designed to benefit both novice and experienced robotics enthusiasts. The common components and technology featured in the project blocks are especially beneficial to readers who need practical solutions that can be implemented easily by their own hands, without incorporating expensive, complicated technology.

Accessible to technicians and hobbyists with many levels of experience, and written to provide inexpensive and creative fun with robotics

Appeals to all sorts of technology enthusiasts, including those involved with electronics, computers, home automation, mechanics, and other areas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Excellent Entry Level Text to Robotics
For anyone who is new to robotics or interfacing motors in general, this book will be well received.

What I liked about it is the way it encourages the use of electrical principles to achieve common robotics goals over microcontroller based control.(If you want your robot to come on at night and stay off during the day for example, just use a switching circuit with an LDR or similar device.Why program something that's not necessary).

There is a section on micro processors but it's rather rudimentary and to be honest could probably be skipped over.

The true value of this book comes from the hardware circuits which are instantly accessible out of the box.

I found it a handy reference with great simple circuits that would certainly save a student or casual experimenter a lot of time and hence the title of the book.

This book would be useful on the bookshelf of most robotics enthusiasts and for the price is highly recommended(there were great circuits in this book that could take 4 chapters in some books to get to the point.This book illustrates them in a page, simple straight forward and ready to go which is what this book is about).

If your after the finer points on robotics and prefer a more in depth break down of electrical cicuits (right down to transistor biasing calculations and designing your own switching circuits for complex feedback hardware then this book might not be for you), however even for the advanced robotics enthusiast I'm sure this would be a handy collection of circuits for quick easy reference.

I recommend it and if later on the author was to add a few chapters on programming interfaces for embedded controllers, this book would certainly get a 5 star rating.

Enjoy,
Sean A. Curtin

Don't believe the title
Robotics, Mechatronics and Artificial Intelligence may be an odd title for this book, as, while most of the circuit blocks are certainly usable in robotics, there are very few where a robot would be the primary use.There are circuits for anything from Touch Lamps and Light Dimmers through to the more robotic circuits like the particularly good chapter on H-Bridges.There are blocks which cover a good number of uses in robotics and mechatronics, but I don't know exactly where he gets the AI bit of his title.

One thing the title got exactly right though was 'Experimental Ciruit Blocks'.There were a number of errors in type but, more importantly if you're using this book as a reference, the schematics.Things like in the "how to use transistors" chapter he more than once mixes his PNP and NPN transistors.Nearly all of the blocks are fine, just keep on your toes.

Very useful ref of practical examples, but with errors
This is a good ref. for, in particular hobbyists and students, where a collection of useful practical examples can be found.However, I spotted quite a number of errors (both typing errors and errors in circuit diagrams such as wrong pin no., incorrect connection point or polarity).For inexperience users, following exactly some of the circuits may result in producing smoke factory.I would like to recommend to recheck and correct some of these errors.I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars partly because of these errors. ... Read more

Product Description
This book treats analysis and design of manipulations, manipulators and grippers by discussing basic concepts and fundamental formulation. It is a novel book dealing with manipulations that can be performed by robotic manipulators. The content of the book has been kept at a fairly practical level with the aim to teach how to model, simulate, and operate robotic mechanical systems. The chapters have been written and organized in a way that they can be read even separately, so that they can be used separately for different courses and readers. An Introductory Chapter 1 illustrates motivations and historical developments of robotic mechanical systems. Chapter 2 describes the analysis and design of manipulations by automatic machinery and robots. Chapter 3 deals with the Mechanics of manipulators with the aim to propose algorithms for analysis, simulation and design purposes. Chapter 4 addresses the attention to mechanical two-finger grippers and related Mechanics of Grasping. ... Read more

Product Description

The International Symposium on Experimental Robotics (ISER) is a series of bi-annual meetings which are organized in a rotating fashion around North America, Europe and Asia/Oceania. The goal of ISER is to provide a forum for research in robotics that focuses on the novelty of theoretical contributions validated by experimental results. This unique reference presents the latest advances in robotics, with ideas that are conceived conceptually and have been explored experimentally.

Customer Reviews (1)

increasing capabilities
These are the papers delivered at a robotics conference in 2006. You might wonder why the book just came out in 2008. But there are inevitable delays in the physical publishing of any book. Plus I imagine that the papers here were perhaps peer reviewed before acceptance by the editors.

The chapters are grouped into topics like manipulation, vision, navigation, field work and others. All of these fields have a lot of effort and the papers in them delineate progress made in recent years.

For navigation, one characteristics is the common use of GPS for robust location estimation. Various field robots are reported on, that are impressively "intelligent" in performing some set tasks. Someone in this field will note the high amount of autonomy, as compared to earlier efforts. No doubt that in turn, this will soon be surpassed.

A professional reader might also want to look at Springer Handbook of Robotics. This also came out in 2008, and one of its editors (Khatib) is also one of the editors of the current book. ... Read more

Product Description

* Provides an elegant introduction to the geometric concepts that are important to applications in robotics

* Includes significant state-of-the art material that reflects important advances, connecting robotics back to mathematical fundamentals in group theory and geometry

* An invaluable reference that serves a wide audience of grad students and researchers in mechanical engineering, computer science, and applied mathematics

Product Description

This monograph presents a novel concept of a mobile robot, which is a single-wheel, gyroscopically stabilized robot. The robot is balanced by a spinning wheel attached through a two-link manipulator at the wheel bearing, and actuated by a drive motor. This configuration conveys significant advantages including insensitivity to attitude disturbances, high maneuverability, low rolling resistance, ability to recover from falls, and amphibious capability for potential applications on both land and water. This book focuses on the dynamics and control aspects, including modeling, model-based control, learning-based control, and shared control with human operators. This novel mobile robot concept opens up the science of dynamically stable systems with a single wheel configuration. The book also presents considerations in concept, design implementations, and kinematics modeling, as well as experimental results from various algorithms and cases. The system is a nonholonomic, underactuated, and highly nonlinear system, so this book is appropriate for scientists and engineers with interests in mobile robot, dynamics and control, as a research reference and postgraduate textbook.

Customer Reviews (1)

Good books on robotic motion don't go out of style
This book was published in 1985, and is still in print at the time I am writing this. However, used copies are selling in the dollar range. If you just ignor the parts of the book that talk about robotic applications and industrial trends that have expired long ago and focus on the very useful portions that teach how to perform the calculations for robot motion, this is a very good book. It has many clear examples and explains all of the formulas in a detailed fashion that you don't commonly find in the more expensive modern texts that attempt to explain robot motion along with other related subjects such as computer vision. The prerequisites for understanding this book are the same as for taking an engineering level course in robotics - matrix algebra, elementary calculus, statics, ordinary linear differential equations, and Laplace transforms. Knowledge of dynamics, computer programming, and control theory, while useful, is not really necessary.

Several problems are presented at the conclusion of each chapter, many of which refer to statements made in the textbook. In this way, the reader is encouraged to actively participate in the development of a particular mathematical equation or a specific numerical result. Five appendices are provided to ensure a common level of understanding of a particular subject before it is introduced in the main text. The following is the detailed table of contents:

1. AN OVERVIEW
1.1 A Chronological Perspective
1.2 Statistics
1.3 Classifications
1.4 Technical Disciplines
1.5 Robot Programming Languages

2. FORWARD KINEMATICS
2.1 Orientation Coordinate Transformations
2.2 Configuration Coordinate Transformations
2.3 Denavit-Hartenberg Coordinate Transformations
2.4 D-H Matrix Composition

3. INVERSE KINEMATICS
3.1 Some General Methods
3.2 The Planar Robot
3.3 The Microbot Robot
3.4 The PUMA 560
3.5 The Stanford Manipulator

4. MOTION KINEMATICS
4.1 The Planar Case
4.2 The Three-Dimensional Case
4.3 Some Spherical Wrist Consequences
4.4 The Stanford Manipulator

5. FORCE/TORQUE RELATIONS
5.1 Force/Moment Translations
5.2 A General Force/Torque Relation
5.3 Some Spherical Wrist Consequences

6. TRAJECTORY PLANNING
6.1 Polynomial Paths and Cubic Segments
6.2 Linear Segments with Parabolic Blends
6.3 Coordinated Motion

7. DYNAMICS (KINETICS)
7.1 Lagrange's Equations
7.2 The Microbot Robot
7.3 Inverse Dynamics

8. POSITIONAL CONTROL
8.1 Unity Feedback Systems
8.2 General Performance Measures
8.3 PID Control
8.4 Inverse Dynamic Feedforward Control
8.5 Nonlinear and Two-Part Conrol

Appendix A - Robotic Terms and Definitions
Appendix B - Matrix/Vector Algebra
Appendix C - Trigonometric Abbreviations and Identities
Appendix D - The Laplace Transform
Appendix E - Moments of Inertia of Common Geometric Shapes ... Read more