Service Robots and Robotics: Design and Application


Book Description

"This book offers the latest research within the field of service robotics, using a mixture of case studies, research, and future direction in this burgeoning field of technology"--




Novel Design and Applications of Robotics Technologies


Book Description

Through expanded intelligence, the use of robotics has fundamentally transformed a variety of fields, including manufacturing, aerospace, medical, social services, and agriculture. Providing successful techniques in robotic design allows for increased autonomous mobility, which leads to a greater productivity level. Novel Design and Applications of Robotics Technologies provides innovative insights into the state-of-the-art technologies in the design and development of robotic technologies and their real-world applications. The content within this publication represents the work of interactive learning, microrobot swarms, and service robots. It is a vital reference source for computer engineers, robotic developers, IT professionals, academicians, and researchers seeking coverage on topics centered on the application of robotics to perform tasks in various disciplines.




Rapid Automation: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications


Book Description

Through expanded intelligence, the use of robotics has fundamentally transformed the business industry. Providing successful techniques in robotic design allows for increased autonomous mobility, which leads to a greater productivity and production level. Rapid Automation: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications provides innovative insights into the state-of-the-art technologies in the design and development of robotics and their real-world applications in business processes. Highlighting a range of topics such as workflow automation tools, human-computer interaction, and swarm robotics, this multi-volume book is ideally designed for computer engineers, business managers, robotic developers, business and IT professionals, academicians, and researchers.




Towards Service Robots for Everyday Environments


Book Description

People have dreamed of machines, which would free them from unpleasant, dull, dirty and dangerous tasks and work for them as servants, for centuries if not millennia. Service robots seem to finally let these dreams come true. But where are all these robots that eventually serve us all day long, day for day? A few service robots have entered the market: domestic and professional cleaning robots, lawnmowers, milking robots, or entertainment robots. Some of these robots look more like toys or gadgets rather than real robots. But where is the rest? This is a question, which is asked not only by customers, but also by service providers, care organizations, politicians, and funding agencies. The answer is not very satisfying. Today’s service robots have their problems operating in everyday environments. This is by far more challenging than operating an industrial robot behind a fence. There is a comprehensive list of technical and scientific problems, which still need to be solved. To advance the state of the art in service robotics towards robots, which are capable of operating in an everyday environment, was the major objective of the DESIRE project (Deutsche Service Robotik Initiative – Germany Service Robotics Initiative) funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant no. 01IME01A. This book offers a sample of the results achieved in DESIRE.




Robotics in Practice


Book Description

THE REAL THING by Isaac Asimov Back in 1939, when I was still a teenager, I began to write (and publish) a series of stories about robots which, for the first time in science fiction, were pictured as having been deliberately engineered to do their job safely. They were not intended to be creaky Gothic menaces, nor outlets for mawkish sentiment. They were simply well-designed machines. Beginning in 1942, I crystallized this notion in what I called 'The Three Laws of Robotics' and, in 1950, nine of my robot stories were collected into a book, I, Robot. I did not at that time seriously believe that I would live to see robots in action and robotics becoming a booming industry .... Yet here we are, better yet, I am alive to see it. But then, why shouldn't they be with us? Robots fulfil an important role in industry. They do simple and repetitive jobs more steadily, more reliably, and more uncomplainingly than a human being could - or should. Does a robot displace a human being? Certainly, but he does so at a job that, simply because a robot can do it, is beneath the dignity of a human being; a job that is no more than mindless drudgery. Better and more human jobs can be found for human beings - and should.




Humanoid Service Robots


Book Description

Based on four empirical studies, Moritz Merkle examines the introduction of humanoid robots to the frontline service encounter in a customer-centric approach focusing on customer expectations and customer responses. The author identifies desirable robotic behavioral cues and shows that service robots meet great acceptance among customers. After service failures, customers are even more likely to forgive service robots than human employees. Further, he shows how crucial it is to manage customer expectations that depend on cultural dimensions and internal reference categories.




Field and Service Robotics


Book Description

This book contains the proceedings of the 11th FSR (Field and Service Robotics), which is the leading single-track conference on applications of robotics in challenging environments. This conference was held in Zurich, Switzerland from 12-15 September 2017. The book contains 45 full-length, peer-reviewed papers organized into a variety of topics: Control, Computer Vision, Inspection, Machine Learning, Mapping, Navigation and Planning, and Systems and Tools. The goal of the book and the conference is to report and encourage the development and experimental evaluation of field and service robots, and to generate a vibrant exchange and discussion in the community. Field robots are non-factory robots, typically mobile, that operate in complex and dynamic environments: on the ground (Earth or other planets), under the ground, underwater, in the air or in space. Service robots are those that work closely with humans to help them with their lives. The first FSR was held in Canberra, Australia, in 1997. Since that first meeting, FSR has been held roughly every two years, cycling through Asia, Americas, and Europe.




Autonomous Land Vehicles


Book Description

The economic potential of autonomous mobile robots will increase tremendously during the next years. Service robots such as cleaning machines and inspection or assistance robots will bring us great support in our daily lives. This textbook provides an introduction to the methods of controlling these robotic systems. Starting from mobile robot kinematics, the reader receives a systematic overview of the basic problems as well as methods and algorithms used for solving them. Localisation, object recognition, map building, navigation and control architectures for autonomous vehicles will be discussed in detail. In conclusion, a survey of specific service robot applications is included as well. This book is a very useful introduction to mobile robotics for beginners as well as advanced students and engineers.




Robots at Your Service


Book Description

"Describes a variety of robots used by businesses, hospitals, and individuals"--




Tales from a Robotic World


Book Description

Stories from the future of intelligent machines—from rescue drones to robot spouses—and accounts of cutting-edge research that could make it all possible. Tech prognosticators promised us robots—autonomous humanoids that could carry out any number of tasks. Instead, we have robot vacuum cleaners. But, as Dario Floreano and Nicola Nosengo report, advances in robotics could bring those rosy predictions closer to reality. A new generation of robots, directly inspired by the intelligence and bodies of living organisms, will be able not only to process data but to interact physically with humans and the environment. In this book, Floreano, a roboticist, and Nosengo, a science writer, bring us tales from the future of intelligent machines—from rescue drones to robot spouses—along with accounts of the cutting-edge research that could make it all possible. These stories from the not-so-distant future show us robots that can be used for mitigating effects of climate change, providing healthcare, working with humans on the factory floor, and more. Floreano and Nosengo tell us how an application of swarm robotics could protect Venice from flooding, how drones could reduce traffic on the congested streets of mega-cities like Hong Kong, and how a “long-term relationship model” robot could supply sex, love, and companionship. After each fictional scenario, they explain the technologies that underlie it, describing advances in such areas as soft robotics, swarm robotics, aerial and mobile robotics, humanoid robots, wearable robots, and even biohybrid robots based on living cells. Robotics technology is no silver bullet for all the world’s problems—but it can help us tackle some of the most pressing challenges we face.