Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics VIII : Selected Contributions of the Eighth International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics

By the dawn of the new millennium, robotics has undergonea major transformation in scope and dimensions. This expansion has been broughtabout by the maturity of the ?eld and the advances in its related technologies. From a largely dominant - dustrial focus, roboticshas been rapidly expandinginto the challengesof the human world.The new generationofrobotsis expectedto safely anddependablyco-habitat withhumansinhomes, workplaces, andcommunities, providingsupportinservices, entertainment, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and assistance. Beyond its impact on physical robots, the body of knowledge robotics has p- duced is revealing a much wider range of applications reaching across diverse research areas and scienti?c disciplines, such as: biomechanics, haptics, neu- sciences, virtual simulation, animation, surgery, and sensor networks among others. In return, the challenges of the new emerging areas are proving an abundant source of stimulation and insights for the ?eld of robotics. It is indeed at the intersection of disciplines that the most striking advances happen. The goal of the series of Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is to bring, in a timely fashion, the latest advances and developments in robotics on the basis of their signi?cance and quality. It is our hope that the wider dissemination of research developmentswill stimulate more exchangesand collaborationsamongthe research community and contribute to further advancement of this rapidly growing ?eld. This volume is the outcome of the eight edition of the biennial Workshop Al- rithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR). Edited by G. Chirikjian, H. Choset, M.

This volume is the outcome of the eighth edition of the biennial Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR). Edited by G.S. Chirikjian, H. Choset, M. Morales and T. Murphey, the book offers a collection of a wide range of topics in advanced robotics, including networked robots, distributed systems, manipulation, planning under uncertainty, minimalism, geometric sensing, geometric computation, stochastic planning methods, and medical applications.

The contents of the forty-two contributions represent a cross-section of the current state of research from one particular aspect: algorithms, and how they are inspired by classical disciplines, such as discrete and computational geometry, differential geometry, mechanics, optimization, operations research, computer science, probability and statistics, and information theory. Validation of algorithms, design concepts, or techniques is the common thread running through this focused collection. Rich by topics and authoritative contributors, WAFR culminates with this unique reference on the current developments and new directions in the field of algorithmic foundations.