This book presents interdisciplinary research that pursues the mutual enrichment of neuroscience and robotics. Building on experimental work, and on the wealth of literature regarding the two cortical pathways of visual processing - the dorsal and ventral streams - we define and implement, computationally and on a real robot, a functional model of the brain areas involved in vision-based graspi…
This book provides a thorough overview of cutting-edge research on electronics applications relevant to industry, the environment, and society at large. A wide spectrum of application domains are covered, from automotive to space and from health to security and special attention is devoted to the use of embedded devices and sensors for imaging, communication and control. The book is based on th…
Recognizing their importance as the most basic coordination tasks for mobile robot networks, the brief details flocking and rendezvous. They are shown to be physical illustrations of emergent behaviors with global consensus arising from local interactions. The authors extend the consideration of these fundamental ideas to describe their operation in flying robots and prompt readers to pursue fu…
In many computer vision applications, objects have to be learned and recognized in images or image sequences. This book presents new probabilistic hierarchical models that allow an efficient representation of multiple objects of different categories, scales, rotations, and views. The idea is to exploit similarities between objects and object parts in order to share calculations and avoid redund…
This book provides a comprehensive discussion of nonlinear multi-modal structural vibration problems, and shows how vibration suppression can be applied to such systems by considering a sample set of relevant control techniques. It covers the basic principles of nonlinear vibrations that occur in flexible and/or adaptive structures, with an emphasis on engineering analysis and relevant control …
This book, along with its companion volume, Nonlinear Dynamics New Directions: Models and Applications, covers topics ranging from fractal analysis to very specific applications of the theory of dynamical systems to biology. This first volume is devoted to fundamental aspects and includes a number of important new contributions as well as some review articles that emphasize new development pros…
Covers a broad spectrum of topics, including computational mechanics, fluid dynamics, engineering design and material science Reports on innovative applications in the fields of manufacturing, robotics and production engineering Addresses the needs of academics and professionals alike
This brief examines a deterministic, ODE-based model for gene regulatory networks (GRN) that incorporates nonlinearities and time-delayed feedback. An introductory chapter provides some insights into molecular biology and GRNs. The mathematical tools necessary for studying the GRN model are then reviewed, in particular Hill functions and Schwarzian derivatives. One chapter is devoted to the ana…
Medical and Service Robotics integrate the most recent achievements in mechanics, mechatronics, computer science, haptic and teleoperation devices together with adaptive control algorithms. The book includes topics such as surgery robotics, assist devices, rehabilitation technology, surgical instrumentation and Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) as examples for medical robotics. Autonomous cleanin…
Medical and service robotics integrates several disciplines and technologies such as mechanisms, mechatronics, biomechanics, humanoid robotics, exoskeletons, and anthropomorphic hands. This book presents the most recent advances in medical and service robotics, with a stress on human aspects. It collects the selected peer-reviewed papers of the Fourth International Workshop on Medical and Serv…