Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.ROBOTICSState of the Art andFuture ChallengesDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.This page intentionally left blankDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.N E W J E R S E Y • L O N D O N • S I N G A P O R E • B E I J I N G • S H A N G H A I • H O N G K O N G • TA I P E I • C H E N N A IWorld ScientifcGeorge Bekey (University of Southern California, USA)Robert Ambrose (NASA Johnson Space Center, USA)Vijay Kumar (University of Pennsylvania, USA)David Lavery (NASA Headquarters, USA)Arthur Sanderson (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA)Brian Wilcox (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA)Junku Yuh (Korea Aerospace University, Korea)Yuan Zheng (Ohio State University, USA)ROBOTICSState of the Art andFuture ChallengesDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.Published byImperial College Press57 Shelton StreetCovent GardenLondon WC2H 9HEDistributed byWorld Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.5 Toh Tuck Link, Singapore 596224USA office: 27 Warren Street, Suite 401-402, Hackensack, NJ 07601UK office: 57 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9HEPrinted in Singapore.For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the CopyrightClearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission tophotocopy is not required from the publisher.ISBN-13 978-1-84816-006-4ISBN-10 1-84816-006-2Typeset by Stallion PressEmail: enquiries@stallionpress.comAll rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrievalsystem now known or to be invented, without written permission from the Publisher.Copyright © 2008 by Imperial College PressROBOTICS: STATE OF THE ART AND FUTURE CHALLENGESDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.CONTENTS1. Introduction 12. Robotic Vehicles 112.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112.1.1 What are robotic vehicles? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112.1.2 Why are robotic vehicles important? . . . . . . . . 122.1.3 How do robotic vehicles work? What are the keytechnologies for mobility? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152.2 Research Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182.2.1 Mechanisms and mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182.2.2 Power and propulsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192.2.3 Computation and control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192.2.4 Sensors and navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222.3 International Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242.3.1 Research on robotic vehicles — the United States . 242.3.1.1 Military and defense systems . . . . . . . . 242.3.1.2 Space robotic vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . 242.3.1.3 Field robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262.3.1.4 Undersea robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262.3.1.5 Search-and-rescue robotics . . . . . . . . . 272.3.2 Research on robotic vehicles — Japan andSouth Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272.3.2.1 Personal and service robotic vehicles . . . 292.3.2.2 Biomimetic mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . 292.3.2.3 Undersea robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30vDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.vi Robotics: State of the Art and Future Challenges2.3.3 Research on robotic vehicles — Europe . . . . . . . 302.3.3.1 Navigation and architectures . . . . . . . . 322.3.3.2 Transportation systems . . . . . . . . . . . 332.3.3.3 Personal and service robotics . . . . . . . . 332.3.3.4 Undersea robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352.4 Comparative Review of Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352.5 Further Readings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373. Space Robotics 393.1 What is Space Robotics? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393.2 Issues in Space Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413.2.1 How are Space Robots created and used? Whattechnology for space robotics needs to be developed? 413.3 International Efforts in Space Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . 553.4 The State of the Art in Space Robotics . . . . . . . . . . . 63References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684. Humanoids 694.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694.2 Definitions of the Humanoid System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704.2.1 Form and function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704.2.2 How are humanoids built? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714.3 Current Challenges in Humanoids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714.3.1 Design, packaging, and power . . . . . . . . . . . . 714.3.2 Bipedal walking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734.3.3 Wheeled lower bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754.3.4 Dexterous limbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764.3.5 Mobile manipulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784.3.6 Human–robot interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 784.4 Key Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 804.5 Fundamental Research Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814.6 Regions Visited by the Assessment Team . . . . . . . . . . 814.7 Observations, Applications, and Conclusions . . . . . . . . 814.7.1 Quantitative observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814.7.2 Qualitative observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 854.7.3 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864.8 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Contents vii5. Industrial, Personal, and Service Robots 895.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895.2 Market Analysis and Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915.3 State of the Art in Theory and Practice . . . . . . . . . . 925.4 International Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945.4.1 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945.4.2 Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 955.4.3 Japan and Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 955.4.4 Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 965.5 International Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975.5.1 Relative strengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975.5.2 Qualitative observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995.6 Future Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016. Robotics for Biological and Medical Applications 1036.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1036.2 Why Robots and Automation in Biology and Medicine . . 1036.2.1 Biological applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1036.2.2 Medical applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1046.2.3 Robotic tools, devices, and systems . . . . . . . . . 1066.2.4 Key technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1076.2.5 Fundamental research challenges . . . . . . . . . . . 1096.3 Regions Visited by the Assessment Team . . . . . . . . . . 1106.3.1 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106.3.2 Japan and Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1116.3.3 Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1116.4 Quantitative and Qualitative Observations . . . . . . . . . 1156.4.1 Quantitative observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1156.4.2 Qualitative observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1156.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1177. Networked Robots 1197.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197.2 Significance and Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1227.3 State of the Art in Theory and Practice . . . . . . . . . . 1247.4 Scientific and Technical Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.viii Robotics: State of the Art and Future Challenges7.5 International Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1287.6 Future Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Authors’ Biographies 131Index 139Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Chapter 1INTRODUCTIONRobotics is an extremely dynamic field with thriving advancement in itstechnology. Along with other emerging technologies such as informationtechnology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology, robotics will contributeto increasing opportunities for economic growth and greatly affect futuregenerations with substantial social and economic impacts.To assess the status of robotics R&D in the world and to comparethe US efforts with those of other countries in terms of quality, scope, andfunding, an international study on the status of robotics was conductedduring 2004–2005 with grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF)and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and someadditional funding from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging andBioengineering (NIBIB). This book presents the state of the art andfuture challenges in the major areas of robotics, based on the internationalstudy report from the World Technology Evaluation Center (WTEC,http://wtec.org/robotics).Under the leadership of Junku Yuh (who was at the time the Directorof the Robotics and Computer Vision Program at NSF), David Lavery fromNASA Headquarters and Y. T. Chien, the Director of Research for WTEC,a study team was formed. The study team consisted of two NASA scientistsand four university faculty members, representing a broad cross-section ofexperience in the robotics field. In alphabetical order, the team memberswere:• Robert Ambrose, NASA Johnson Space Center• George Bekey, University of Southern California (Chair)• Vijay Kumar, University of Pennsylvania• Arthur Sanderson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute• Brian Wilcox, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory• Yuan Zheng, Ohio State University1Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.2 Robotics: State of the Art and Future ChallengesTo assess the status of robotics R&D in the United States andto provide a baseline for comparisons with efforts in other countries,a workshop was held at NSF on 21–22 July 2004. This invitationalworkshop was attended by some 100 researchers from universities, researchlaboratories, government, and industry, who presented “Status Reports”in a number of areas of robotics, including technology areas suchas actuators and mechanisms, robot control, intelligence and learning,human–robot interaction, multirobot systems, and humanoid robots, andapplications in such fields as entertainment, education, medicine andrehabilitation, military, space, and underwater. The materials presentedat the workshop are available at http://wtec.org/robotics/us workshop.Following the workshop, it was decided to narrow the scope of theinternational study into the following six areas: robotic vehicles; spacerobotics; humanoid robots; industrial, service and personal robots; roboticsin biology and medicine; and networked robots.In October 2004, the team traveled to Japan and South Korea, visiting29 laboratories. In April 2005, an additional 21 laboratories were visitedin France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UnitedKingdom. In addition, a “virtual site visit” to Australia was conductedthrough e-mail. While there are significant works in robotics in othercountries (such as Belgium, China, Russia, and others) the itinerary wasconstrained by time and budget. Based on extensive discussions amongteam members, consultation with sponsors, and e-mail discussions withcolleagues throughout the world, visits were restricted to the specificcountries listed above. The complete list of all sites visited is given inTable 1.1.Most visits were completed in half a day. Even so, in order to visit 20laboratories in Japan in 1 week, it was necessary to split the team into twosubgroups. The number of sites visited in Europe was so large that the teamwas divided into three subgroups. Fortunately, these smaller groups wereaugmented by the following representatives from NASA, NSF, and WTECwho participated in the visits and assisted significantly in the gatheringof information: David Lavery, NASA Headquarters; Minoo Dastoor; NASAHeadquarters; Junku Yuh, NSF; Y. T. Chien, WTEC; Hassan Ali, WTEC;and Masanobu Miyahara, WTEC.In order to focus the discussions in the various laboratories, the hostengineers and scientists were provided with a set of questions prior to thevisits. While the discussion did not necessarily follow the specific questions,Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Introduction 3Table 1.1. Sites visited in Asia and Europe.Site Panelists DateEuropeFranceCentre National d’Etudes Spatiales deToulouseAmbrose, Chien, Dastoor,Wilcox25 April 2005Cybern´etix Ali, Sanderson, Yuh,Zheng27 April 2005Institut Fran¸cais de Recherch´e pourl’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)Ali, Sanderson, Yuh,Zheng27 April 2005Institut National de Recherche enInformatique et en Automatique(INRIA)Ali, Sanderson, Yuh,Zheng28 April 2005Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecturedes Syst`emes — Centre National dela Recherche Scientifique(LAAS/CNRS)Ambrose, Chien, Dastoor,Lavery, Wilcox26 April 2005GermanyCharite Hospital Ambrose, Chien, Dastoor,Lavery, Wilcox28 April 2005DLR German Aerospace Center Ambrose, Bekey, Chien,Kumar, Lavery, Wilcox27 April 2005Fraunhofer Institute — ProductionSystems and Design Technology(IPK)Ambrose, Chien, Lavery,Wilcox28 April 2005Karlsruhe University Bekey, Kumar 28 April 2005Technical University Berlin Ambrose, Chien, Dastoor,Lavery, Wilcox28 April 2005Technical University Munich Ambrose, Bekey, Chien,Dastoor, Kumar,Lavery, Wilcox27 April 2005ItalyUniversit`a di Genova Ali, Yuh, Zheng 29 April 2005Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna Ali, Sanderson, Yuh,Zheng29 April 2005SpainUniversitat de Girona Sanderson, Yuh 22 April 2005SwedenABB Laboratory Ambrose, Bekey, Chien,Kumar, Wilcox29 April 2005Kungl Teknisha Hogskolan (KTH) Bekey, Kumar 28 April 2005SwitzerlandEcole Polytechnique F´ ´ ed´erale deLausanne (EPFL)Bekey, Kumar 26 April 2005Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.4 Robotics: State of the Art and Future ChallengesTable 1.1. (Continued ).Site Panelists DateSwiss Federal Institute of Technology(ETH)Bekey, Kumar 25 April 2005University of Z¨ urich Bekey, Kumar 25 April 2005United KingdomHeriot-Watt University Ali, Sanderson, Yuh,Zheng25 April 2005Oxford University Ali, Sanderson, Yuh,Zheng26 April 2005AsiaJapanNational Institute of AdvancedIndustrial Science and Technology(AIST)Ambrose, Bekey, Lavery,Wilcox, Yuh, Zheng6 Oct 2004AIST — Intelligent Systems ResearchInstituteAmbrose, Chien, Wilcox 8 Oct 2004ATR Computational NeuroscienceLaboratoriesChien, Dastoor, Sanderson 5 Oct 2004ATR Intelligent Robotics andCommunication LaboratoriesChien, Dastoor, Sanderson 5 Oct 2004FANUC Chien, Kumar, Zheng 8 Oct 2004Fujitsu Autonomous Systems Lab Ambrose, Chien, Kumar,Lavery, Wilcox,Yuh5 Oct 2004Japan Agency for Marine Earth Scienceand Technology (JAMSTEC)Chien, Kumar, Sanderson,Yuh, Zheng4 Oct 2004Keio University — Kawasaki Campus Ambrose, Bekey, Kumar,Miyahara, Wilcox, Yuh,Zheng5 Oct 2004Keio University — Shonan FujisawaCampusChien, Kumar, Miyahara,Yuh, Zheng4 Oct 2004Ministry of Economy, Trade, andIndustry (METI)Sanderson, Yuh 8 Oct 2004Nagoya University Chien, Dastoor, Sanderson 7 Oct 2004NEC/Toshiba Space Systems Division Ambrose, Bekey, Chien,Lavery, Wilcox7 Oct 2004Osaka University Chien, Dastoor, Sanderson 6 Oct 2004Ritsumeikan University Chien, Dastoor, Sanderson 6 Oct 2004Sony Corporate R&D Laboratory Ambrose, Bekey, Kumar,Lavery, Wilcox, Zheng5 Oct 2004Tokyo Institute of Technology Ambrose, Chien, Wilcox 4 Oct 2004University of Tokyo — Department ofMechano InformaticsSanderson, Yuh 8 Oct 2004University of Tokyo — UnderwaterTechnology Research CenterAmbrose, Lavery, Wilcox,Yuh9 Oct 2004Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Introduction 5Table 1.1. (Continued ).Site Panelists DateTsukuba University Ambrose, Bekey, Lavery,Wilcox, Yuh9 Oct 2004Waseda University Ambrose, Bekey, Kumar,Miyahara, Sanderson,Wilcox, Yuh, Zheng7 Oct 2004KoreaElectronic and TelecommunicationsResearch Institute (ETRI)Ambrose, Bekey, Chien,Zheng12 Oct 2004Hanool Robotics Ambrose, Bekey, Chien,Kumar, Sanderson,Weber, Wilcox, Yuh,Zheng12 Oct 2004Korea Advanced Institute of Scienceand Technology (KAIST)Ambrose, Bekey, Chien,Wilcox, Yuh12 Oct 2004Korea Institute of Science andTechnology (KIST)Ambrose, Wilcox, Yuh,Zheng12 Oct 2004Korea Research Institute of Ships andOcean Engineering (KRISO)/KoreaOcean Research & DevelopmentInstitute (KORDI)Sanderson, Wilcox, Yuh 12 Oct 2004Pohang Science and TechnicalUniversity (POSTECH)Ambrose, Chien,Sanderson, Wilcox, Yuh,Zheng13 Oct 2004Samsung Mechatronics Center Ambrose, Chien, Wilcox,Yuh, Zheng12 Oct 2004Seoul National University Bekey, Chien, Sanderson,Weber11 Oct 2004Sungkyunkwan University Bekey, Chien, Sanderson,Weber11 Oct 2004they provided a general framework for the discussions. The questions werethe following:1. How long has your laboratory been in existence?2. What fraction of the work in this lab concerns robotics?3. How is your work supported — Government, university, or industryfunds?4. Is the level of support adequate for the work you plan to do?5. What interactions do you have with academia, government, and industry,and with the labs in other countries?6. What are the other major research groups in your country that areworking in your area of research?Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.6 Robotics: State of the Art and Future Challenges7. What are the other major research groups outside of your country thatare working in your area of research?8. How do you assess robotics research in the United States as comparedto your country? In your field of robotics, do you think your country isleading the United States?In September 2005, the results of the study were presented to the nationat a press conference and workshop held at NSF. In January 2006, “virtualsite visits” were conducted with two leading laboratories in Australia. Thedirectors of these laboratories submitted replies to the questions from theteam and provided pictures of the robots they developed. The final reportwas published by WTEC in February 2006 (http://wtec.org/robotics).Based on the study, it was concluded that:• Robotics is a very active field, worldwide.• Japan, Korea, and the European Community invest significantly largerfunds in robotics research and development for the private sector thanthe United States.• There are numerous start-up companies in robotics, both in the UnitedStates and abroad. Venture capital appears to be available.• The United States currently leads in such areas as robot navigation inoutdoor environments, robot architectures (the integration of control,structure, and computation), and in applications to space, defense,underwater systems, and some aspects of service and personal robots.• Japan and Korea lead in technology for robot mobility, humanoidrobots, and some aspects of service and personal robots includingentertainment.• Europe leads in mobility for structured environments, including urbantransportation. Europe also has significant programs in eldercare andhome service robotics.• Australia leads in commercial applications of field robotics, in suchareas as cargo handling and mining, and in the theory and applicationof localization and navigation.• In contrast with the United States, Korea and Japan have nationalstrategic initiatives in robotics; the European community has ECwide programs. In the United States, there is coordination only inmilitary robotics. The US Department of Defense has a Joint RoboticsProgram (JRP) Master Plan. The United States lost its pre-eminence inindustrial robotics at the end of the 1980s, so that nearly all robots forDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Introduction 7welding, painting, and assembly are imported from Japan or Europe;it may lose its leading position in other aspects of robotics as well.Some examples of funding disparities: In the United States, NSFfunding for robotics is about $10 million per year. Annual funding formilitary robotics in the United States is estimated to be more than$200 million per year. In Japan, robotics useful in home and town wasselected as one of the 62 Priority Technologies selected by JapaneseGovernment’s Council for Science and Technology Policy (CSTP) forJapan’s Third S&T Basic Plan and its Priority Technologies, JFY2006-2010. In Korea, robotics has been selected as one of the 10 areas oftechnology to be “engines for economic growth”; the total funding forrobotics is about $80 million per year. In Europe, a new program called“Advanced Robotics” has been funded at about $100 million for 3 years.A summary of the areas of major strength in various aspects of roboticsin the United States, Asia, and Europe is given in Table 1.2. The “INPUT”section refers to the kinds of resources and organizations that produceR&D, while “OUPUT” refers to the outcomes of research, into key roboticproducts or applications.Table 1.2. Qualitative robotics comparison chart.Area Degree or Level of ActivityUnited States Japan Korea EuropeInputBasic, university-based research(Individual, groups, centers)***** *** *** ***Applied, industry-based research(corporate, national labs)** ***** **** ****National or multinational researchinitiatives or programs** ***** ***** ****University–industry–governmentpartnerships; entrepreneurship** ***** ***** ****OutputRobotic vehicles: military and civilian **** ** ** **Space robotics *** ** N/A ***Humanoids ** ***** **** **Industrial robotics: manufacturing ** ***** ** ****Service robotics: nonmanufacturing *** *** **** ***Personal robotics: home ** ***** **** **Biological and biomedical applications **** ** ** ****Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.8 Robotics: State of the Art and Future ChallengesA number of trends in technology are expected to have a major impacton robotics in the near future. The DARPA Grand Challenge in the UnitedStates in 2005 and 2007 demonstrated the ability of autonomous vehiclesto travel at average speeds in excess of 30 mph over unknown terrain, andin the presence of a number of hazards and obstacles. The winning vehiclesintegrated sensors (including GPS), complex and intelligent vision systems,and sophisticated navigation algorithms to accomplish the task. These andother aspects of the so-called “Intelligent Vehicle Technology” are expectedto influence the development of autonomous robotic vehicles in the nearfuture. Developments in nanotechnology may lead to nanorobotic systems,capable of self-assembly or perhaps manipulation of individual molecules forresearch in genetics and related areas. We have cited robotic surgery as amajor current area of application. We expect that in the future, increasinglyautonomous systems will be able to operate within the body to identifyand perhaps remove tumors. New imaging techniques, like fMRI, combinedwith nanorobotics, may make possible dramatically new and differentstudies of brain function. Networks of sensors distributed throughout theenvironment may allow distributed robotic systems to interact and functionas a collective system in the solution of environmental and other problems.This is just a sampling of the exciting potential of robotics. Clearly, thisis the age of robotics and we expect it to have an increasingly importanteffect on our lives, both as individuals and as societies.The remainder of this book is organized into six chapters concernedwith specific major application areas. Each chapter:• defines the area;• indicates why it is important;• describes the major technologies required;• points out major applications with examples;• outlines the major challenges, both present and future;• summarizes major activities in the United States, Korea, Japan, andthe European countries visited; and• provides a qualitative comparison between R&D activities in theseregions.The specific topics are:Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Robotic vehiclesChapter 3: Space roboticsDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Introduction 9Chapter 4: Humanoid robotsChapter 5: Industrial, service, and personal robotsChapter 6: Robotics in biology and medicineChapter 7: Networked robotsThe Appendix contains short biographies of the members of the studyteam, who are also the authors of this volume.Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.This page intentionally left blankDownloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Chapter 2ROBOTIC VEHICLES2.1. Introduction2.1.1. What are robotic vehicles?The field of robotics encompasses a broad spectrum of technologies in whichcomputational intelligence is embedded in physical machines, creatingsystems with capabilities far exceeding the core components alone. Suchrobotic systems are then able to carry out tasks that are unachievableby conventional machines, or even by humans working with conventionaltools. The ability of a machine to move by itself, i.e., “autonomously,”is one such capability that opens up an enormous range of applicationsthat are uniquely suited to robotic systems. This chapter describes suchunmanned and autonomous vehicles and summarizes their development andapplication within the international perspective of this study.Robotic vehicles are machines that move “autonomously” on theground, in the air, undersea, or in space. Such vehicles are “unmanned,”in the sense that no humans are on board. In general, these vehicles moveby themselves, under their own power, with sensors and computationalresources onboard to guide their motion. However, such “unmanned”robotic vehicles usually integrate some form of human oversight orsupervision of the motion and task execution. Such oversight may takedifferent forms, depending on the environment and application. It iscommon to utilize so-called “supervisory control” for high-level observationand monitoring of vehicle motion. In other instances, an interface isprovided for more continuous human input constituting a “remotelyoperated vehicle” (ROV). In this case, the ROV is often linked bycable or wireless communications in order to provide higher bandwidthcommunications of operator input. In the evolution of robotic vehicletechnology that has been observed in this study, it is clear that a higher11Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.12 Robotics: State of the Art and Future Challengeslevel of autonomy is an important trend of emerging technologies, and theROV mode of operation is gradually being replaced by supervisory controlof autonomous operations.2.1.2. Why are robotic vehicles important?First, robotic vehicles are capable of traveling where people cannot go,or where the hazards of human presence are great. To reach the surfaceof Mars, a spacecraft must travel more than 1 year, and on arrival thesurface has no air, water, or resources to support human life. Whilehuman exploration of Mars may someday be possible, it is clear thatrobotic exploration is a fundamental step that provides enormous scientificand technological rewards enhancing our knowledge of other planets. TheNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars rover shownin Fig. 2.1 is a robotic vehicle that has successfully achieved these goals,becoming a remote scientific laboratory for exploration of the Martiansurface. The Mars rover is an example of a robotic vehicle under supervisorycontrol from the earth, and capable of local autonomous operation forsegments of motion and defined scientific tasks.Another example of a hostile and hazardous environment where roboticvehicles are essential tools of work and exploration is the undersea world.Human divers may dive to a depth of 100 m or more, but pressure, light,Fig. 2.1. NASA Mars rover (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)).Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.Robotic Vehicles 13Fig. 2.2. IFREMER ASTER autonomous underwater vehicle.currents, and other factors limit such human exploration of the vast volumeof the earth’s oceans. Oceanographers have developed a wide variety ofsophisticated technologies for sensing, mapping, and monitoring the oceansat many scales, from small biological organisms to major ocean circulationcurrents. Robotic vehicles, both autonomous and ROV types, are anincreasingly important part of this repertoire, and provide information thatis unavailable in other ways. Figure 2.2 shows an autonomous underwatervehicle (AUV) called ASTER under development at Institut Fran¸ cais deRecherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), the French NationalInstitute for Marine Science and Technology. ASTER will be used forcoastal surveys up to 3000 m in depth and is capable of carrying a widevariety of instrumentation for physical, chemical, and biological sensingand monitoring. In research in the US, the evolution of remotely operatedvehicles for deep ocean exploration enabled the discovery of the sunkenTitanic and the ability to explore that notable shipwreck.In addition to space and oceans, there are many applications wherehuman presence is hazardous. Nuclear and biological contamination sitesmust often be explored and mapped to determine the types and extent ofcontamination, and provide the basis for remediation. Military operationsincorporate many different autonomous and remotely operated technologiesfor air, sea, and ground vehicles. Increasingly, security and defense systemsmay use networks of advanced mobile sensors that observe and detectpotential events that may pose threats to populations.Downloaded from www.worldscientific.comby LA TROBE UNIVERSITY on 12/03/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.14 Robotics: State of the Art and Future Challenges(a) (b)Fig. 2.3. (a) Agricultural robotic vehicle (International Harvester, the United States).(b) Mining haul truck (ACFR, Australia).In a second class of applications, robotic vehicles are used in routinetasks that occur over spaces and environments where machine mobilitycan effectively replace direct human presence. For example, large-scaleagriculture requires machines to cultivate, seed, irriga
