Design And Prototypes Of Mobile Robots (asme Press Robotics Engineering) [Hardcover]

For several decades now, mobile robots have been integral to the development of new robotic systems for new applications, even in nontechnical areas. Mobile robots have already been developed for such uses as industrial automation, medical care, space exploration, demining operations, surveillance, entertainment, museum guides and many other industrial and non-industrial applications. In some cases these products are readily available on the market. A considerable amount of literature is also available; not all of which pertains to technical issues, as listed in the chapters of this book. Mobile robots will always be further developed with the goal of performing locomotion tasks, those related to movement and interaction with the surrounding environment, within which a task can be fulfilled even without the supervision of human operators. The complexity of locomotion requires different solutions both for design and operation. As such, a large variety of mobile robots and mobile robotic systems has been, and still can be, developed. In fact, considerable advancements have been achieved within the last few decades, and a vast amount of literature is already available detailing a large variety of mobile robots. The literature emphasizes design issues, operational success, procedures and algorithms that can be used specifically for these applications, as opposed to general approaches for a variety of cases. One key point for mobile robots is interaction with the environment in which the mobile robot moves and corresponding solutions can determine the success or failure of the motion. Indeed, the mechanical design is not very often considered a critical issue, but rather it is often included as an issue in the overall design of mechanical solutions within servo-controlled operation and environment interaction. A second important issue is the acceptance of robotic systems and the corresponding psychological aspects, when robots are proposed to operators and users in fieldlc{