The Path to Autonomous Robots: Essays in Honor of George A. Bekey

The principal chapters of this book form a collection of technical articles sp- ning many areas of research in robotics, these are followed by a set of short r- iniscences and tributes written by former students of Professor George A. Bekey. Professor Bekey, a pioneer in robotics, retired from the University of Southern C- ifornia (USC) in 2002 after serving on its faculty for forty years. He maintains an association with USC as University Professor Emeritus. Professor Bekey turned 80 in June 2008 - this is his Festschrift. As one of Professor Bekey’s former students, it has been my privilege to know him for many years. This book represents the collective warm feelings of his former students, who remember their association with him in the fondest terms. Part I of this book is composed of technical chapters representing threads of active robotics research knitted loosely together. In many cases the themes of the chapters have their origins in the work the authors did when they were graduate students with Professor Bekey. These chapters are written for the reader interested in a sampling of modern research in Autonomous Robots. It is my hope that, for the serious reader, these chapters will serve as invitations to explore the ?eld via further reading and research.

This collection of technical articles, written by leading international researchers in robotics, presents threads of modern robotics research. Also included are brief reminiscences of the former students of Professor George A. Bekey, reflecting on his remarkable 50-year career as an innovative educator and authority on Autonomous Robots. Together, these words pay tribute to Bekey’s stature as a pioneer in the field, particularly in the areas of medical and rehabilitation robotics, human robot interaction and robot ethics. Topics explored in these chapters include:

• Mobile robots in extreme environments
• Autonomous spacecraft
• The design of networked robotic systems
• Robotic grasping using inputs from vision systems
• Advances in manipulation and mobility inspired by human control systems
• New directions in human-robot interaction
• A biomimetic approach to autonomous robot design
• Applying multi-task learning to inverse dynamics

Researchers and students will be inspired both by these contributions and Professor Bekey’s accomplishments, and the volume will undoubtedly spur further reading and research in the field.