Scientific Methods In Mobile Robotics: Quantitative Analysis Of Agent Behaviour

Scientific Methods in Mobile Robotics Ulrich Nehmzow Scientific Methods in Mobile Robotics Quantitative Analysis of Agent Behaviour With 116 Figures 123 Ulrich Nehmzow, Dipl Ing, PhD, CEng, MIEE Department of Computer Science University of Essex Colchester CO4 3SQ United Kingdom British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Nehmzow, Ulrich, 1961Scientific methods in mobile robotics : quantitative analysis of agent behaviour. - (Springer series in advanced manufacturing) 1. Mobile robots 2. Robots - Dynamics - Simulation methods I. Title 629.8’932 ISBN-10: 1846280192 Library of Congress Control Number: 2005933051 ISBN-10: 1-84628-019-2 ISBN-13: 978-1-84628-019-1 e-ISBN 1-84628-260-8 Printed on acid-free paper © Springer-Verlag London Limited 2006 Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers. The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher makes no representation, express or implied, with regard to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. Printed in Germany 987654321 Springer Science+Business Media springeronline.com S.D.G. Dedicated to the RobotMODIC group: Steve Billings, Theocharis Kyriacou, Roberto Iglesias Rodr´ıguez, Keith Walker and Hugo Vieira Neto, and its support team: Claudia and Henrietta Nehmzow, Maria Kyriacou, Michele Vieira and Maxine Walker Foreword Mobile robots are widely applied in a range of applications from transportation, surveillance through to health care. In all these applications it is clearly important to be able to analyse and control the performance of the mobile robot and it is therefore surprising that formalised methods to achieve this are not readily available. This book introduces methods and procedures from statistics, dynamical systems theory, and system identification that can be applied to address these important problems. The core objective is to try to explain the interaction between the robot, the task and the environment in a transparent manner such that system characteristics can be analysed, controllers can be designed, and behaviours can be replicated in a systematic and structured manner. This aim of constructing a formalised approach for task-achieving mobile robots represents a refreshingly new approach to this complex set of problems. Dr Nehmzow has done an outstanding job of constructing and describing a unified framework, which clearly sets out the crucial issues for the development of a theory for mobile robots. Thanks to the careful organisation of the topics and a clear exposition, this book provides an excellent introduction to some new directions in this subject area. Dr Nehmzow’s book represents a major departure from the traditional treatment of mobile robots, and provides a refreshing new look at some long-standing problems. I am sure that this is just the beginning of an exciting new phase in this subject area. This book provides a very readable account of the concepts involved; it should have a broad appeal, and will I am sure provide a valuable reference for many years to come. S A Billings Sheffield, May