Autonomous Robots: From Biological Inspiration to Implementation and Control

by George A. Bekey

Overview

An introduction to the science and practice of autonomous robots that reviews over 300 current systems and examines the underlying technology.

Autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of performing tasks in the world by themselves, without explicit human control. Examples range from autonomous helicopters to Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner. In this book, George Bekey offers an introduction to the science and practice of autonomous robots that can be used both in the classroom and as a reference for industry professionals. He surveys the hardware implementations of more than 300 current systems, reviews some of their application areas, and examines the underlying technology, including control, architectures, learning, manipulation, grasping, navigation, and mapping. Living systems can be considered the prototypes of autonomous systems, and Bekey explores the biological inspiration that forms the basis of many recent developments in robotics. He also discusses robot control issues and the design of control architectures.

After an overview of the field that introduces some of its fundamental concepts, the book presents background material on hardware, control (from both biological and engineering perspectives), software architecture, and robot intelligence. It then examines a broad range of implementations and applications, including locomotion (wheeled, legged, flying, swimming, and crawling robots), manipulation (both arms and hands), localization, navigation, and mapping. The many case studies and specific applications include robots built for research, industry, and the military, among them underwater robotic vehicles, walking machines with four, six, and eight legs, and the famous humanoid robots Cog, Kismet, ASIMO, and QRIO. The book concludes with reflections on the future of robotics—the potential benefits as well as the possible dangers that may arise from large numbers of increasingly intelligent and autonomous robots.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262534185
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	02/10/2017
Series:	Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	594
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

George A. Bekey is Professor Emeritus in Computer Science at University of Southern California and Distinguished Professor of Engineering at California Polytechnic State University.

Table of Contents

	Preface	xiii
1	Autonomy and Control in Animals and Robots	1
1.1	What Is Autonomy?	1
1.2	What Is a Robot?	2
1.3	Problems of Robot Control	2
1.4	Biologically Inspired Robot Control	7
1.5	Sensors	10
1.6	Actuators	12
1.7	Intelligence	12
1.8	A Brief Survey of Current Robots and Associated Control Issues	13
1.9	Concluding Remarks and Organization of the Book	25
2	Control and Regulation in Biological Systems	27
2.1	Homeostasis	27
2.2	Engineering and Biological Control Systems	29
2.3	Multiple Levels of Control: Control Architecture	33
2.4	Other Biological Control Systems	34
2.5	Nonlinearities in Biological Control Systems	38
2.6	Cost Functions	42
2.7	Control of Functional Motions in Humans	43
2.8	Relevance to Robot Control	43
2.9	Historical Background	44
3	Fundamental Structural Elements	45
3.1	The Structural Elements	45
3.2	Actuators for Robots	47
3.3	Sensors for Robots	57
3.4	Localization	68
3.5	Computation and Communication	68
4	Low-Level Robot Control	71
4.1	Engineering Control: An Intuitive Introduction to Its Advantages and Limitations	71
4.2	Robot Controller Design Principles	76
4.3	Control of Multilink Structures	79
4.4	State Space Approach: Theory, Advantages, and Limitations	82
4.5	Nonlinear Robot Control	85
4.6	Adaptive Control and Other Approaches	88
4.7	Model-Free Approaches to Control	91
4.8	Uncertainty in Control System Design	92
4.9	Biologically Inspired Control: Basic Principles	93
5	Software Architectures for Autonomous Robots	97
5.1	What Is a Robot Architecture?	97
5.2	Where Does Control Fit into Robot Software?	98
5.3	A Brief History	99
5.4	Hierarchical and Deliberative Architectures	100
5.5	Reactive and Behavior-Based Architectures	104
5.6	Hybrid Reactive-Deliberative Architectures	107
5.7	Major Features of Hybrid Architectures	110
5.8	Case Study 5.1: The Tropism-Based Architecture	113
5.9	Case Study 5.2: The USC AVATAR Architecture for Autonomous Helicopter Control	117
5.10	Open Architectures in Robotics	121
5.11	Concluding Remarks	122
6	Robot Learning	125
6.1	The Nature of Robot Learning	125
6.2	Learning and Control	126
6.3	General Issues in Learning by Robotic Systems	128
6.4	Reinforcement Learning	129
6.5	Q-Learning	134
6.6	Case Study 6.1: Learning to Avoid Obstacles Using Reinforcement Learning	135
6.7	Learning Using Neural Networks	140
6.8	Case Study 6.2: Learning to Grasp Objects of Different Shapes	149
6.9	Evolutionary Algorithms	153
6.10	Case Study 6.3: Learning to Walk Using Genetic Algorithms	156
6.11	Case Study 6.4: Learning in the Tropism Architecture	165
6.12	Learning by Imitation	175
6.13	Whither Robot Learning?	184
7	Robot Locomotion: An Overview	185
7.1	Animal Locomotion	185
7.2	Wheeled Vehicles	186
7.3	Tracked Vehicles	197
7.4	Legged Robots	199
7.5	Hopping Robots	200
7.6	Serpentine (Snake) Robots	203
7.7	Underwater Robotic Vehicles	209
7.8	Biologically Inspired Underwater Robots	217
7.9	Climbing and Other Unusual Locomotion Methods	225
7.10	Flying Robots	232
7.11	Self-Reconfigurable Robots	245
7.12	Concluding Remarks	251
8	Biped Locomotion	253
8.1	Standing and Walking on Two Legs	253
8.2	The Nature of Human Walking	254
8.3	Musculoskeletal Dynamics	256
8.4	Control of Human Locomotion	258
8.5	Robotic Models of Biped Locomotion	262
8.6	Some Biped Robots	263
8.7	Mathematical Models of Biped Kinematics and Dynamics	274
8.8	Modeling Compensatory Trunk Movements While Walking	276
8.9	Mechanical Aids to Human Walking	277
8.10	Concluding Remarks	283
9	Locomotion in Animals and Robots with Four, Six, and Eight Legs	285
9.1	Introduction to Legged Locomotion in Animals	285
9.2	Neural Control of Locomotion	286
9.3	Walking Multilegged Robots	287
9.4	Six-Legged Walking Machines	289
9.5	Locomotion in Four-Legged Animals	303
9.6	Four-Legged Walking Machines	304
9.7	Finite-State Models of Legged Locomotion	321
9.8	Case Study 9.1: Control and Stability in the Quadruped Meno	323
9.9	Eight-Legged Walking Machines	327
9.10	Concluding Remarks	332
10	Arm Motion and Manipulation	333
10.1	Human Arms and Robot Arms	333
10.2	Control of Arm Motion in Humans	335
10.3	Robot Manipulators	338
10.4	Some Typical Robot Arms	341
10.5	Forward Kinematics of Manipulators	347
10.6	Inverse Kinematics	348
10.7	Dynamics	350
10.8	Manipulator Control	351
10.9	Alternative Approaches to Manipulator Control	352
10.10	Arm Prosthetics and Orthotics	355
10.11	Concluding Remarks	361
11	Control of Grasping in Human and Robot Hands	363
11.1	Introduction to Hands	363
11.2	Reaching and Grasping	365
11.3	Simple Robot End Effectors	368
11.4	Multifingered Robot Hands	371
11.5	Case Study 11.1: The Belgrade-USC Hand	378
11.6	Prosthetic Hands	385
11.7	Concluding Remarks	390
12	Control of Multiple Robots	391
12.1	Principles and Problems of Multiple-Robot Systems	391
12.2	Biological Inspiration: Sociobiology	393
12.3	A Brief History of Multiple Robots	395
12.4	Control Issues in Autonomous-Robot Colonies	399
12.5	Case Study 12.1: Centralized Control of Very Simple Robots	400
12.6	Some Multiple-Robot Architectures	402
12.7	Swarm and Cellular Robotics	412
12.8	Communication among Multiple Robots	415
12.9	Formation Control	420
12.10	Robot Soccer	427
12.11	Heterogeneous Robot Teams	429
12.12	Task Assignment	431
12.13	Design Issues in Multiple-Robot Systems	435
12.14	Conclusions	439
13	Humanoid Robots	441
13.1	Introduction: Why Humanoids?	441
13.2	Historical Background	444
13.3	Full-Body Humanoids	448
13.4	Interaction with Humans	457
13.5	Special-Purpose Humanoids	463
13.6	Trends in Humanoid Research	471
14	Localization, Navigation, and Mapping	473
14.1	Overview	473
14.2	Biological Inspiration	475
14.3	Robot Navigation	478
14.4	Mapping	483
14.5	Case Study 14.1: Incremental Topological Mapping	488
14.6	Localization	494
14.7	Simultaneous Localization and Mapping	504
14.8	Multirobot Localization	504
14.9	Concluding Remarks	507
15	The Future of Autonomous Robots	509
15.1	Introduction	509
15.2	Current Trends in Robotics	510
15.3	Human-Robot Cooperation and Interaction	512
15.4	Multirobot Systems	513
15.5	Micro- and Nanorobots	513
15.6	Reconfigurability	514
15.7	The Implications of Computer Power	514
15.8	Self-Organization, Self-Repair, Autonomous Evolution, and Self-Replication	515
15.9	The Potential Dangers of Robotics	516
15.10	Concluding Remarks	518
Appendix	Introduction to Linear Feedback Control Systems	519
A.1	Linear Control Systems in the Frequency Domain	519
A.2	The Transfer Function	522
A.3	Stability	526
A.4	Control System Design	529
	References	531
	Author Index	557
	Subject Index	563

What People are Saying About This

Henrik I. Christensen

Autonomous Robots is a comprehensive overview of the subject by one of the fathers of robotics. It covers both the underlying theory and methods, ranging from mechanical design over architectures, control, and perception to current applications. Remarkably complete in its coverage, the book is an excellent introduction to the field and also a solid reference on recent research.

Rodney Brooks

George Bekey has quietly been a moving force behind much of autonomous robotics research for the last 20 years. Now he has drawn upon his extensive store of knowledge to produce a startlingly complete account of the major questions, progress, and future directions for this increasingly economically important area of research. No one else could have produced such a tour de force with such authority.

Endorsement

Autonomous Robots is a comprehensive overview of the subject by one of the fathers of robotics. It covers both the underlying theory and methods, ranging from mechanical design over architectures, control, and perception to current applications. Remarkably complete in its coverage, the book is an excellent introduction to the field and also a solid reference on recent research.

—Henrik I. Christensen, Centre for Autonomous Systems, Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

From the Publisher

George Bekey has quietly been a moving force behind much of autonomous robotics research for the last 20 years. Now he has drawn upon his extensive store of knowledge to produce a startlingly complete account of the major questions, progress, and future directions for this increasingly economically important area of research. No one else could have produced such a tour de force with such authority.

—Rodney Brooks, Director, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, MIT

Editorial Reviews

...an additional milestone in the history of synthetic studies, with a special focus on the recent attempts by robotics scientists...this book should be ideal for the students of robotics research, and the researchers in neighboring disciplines, including computer science, artificial life and intelligence, biology, psychology, and neuroscience.—Fumiya Iida, Artificial Life—

From the Publisher

...an additional milestone in the history of synthetic studies, with a special focus on the recent attempts by robotics scientists...this book should be ideal for the students of robotics research, and the researchers in neighboring disciplines, including computer science, artificial life and intelligence, biology, psychology, and neuroscience.

—Fumiya Iida, Artificial Life

Reviews

...an additional milestone in the history of synthetic studies, with a special focus on the recent attempts by robotics scientists...this book should be ideal for the students of robotics research, and the researchers in neighboring disciplines, including computer science, artificial life and intelligence, biology, psychology, and neuroscience.

Artificial Life - Fumiya Iida