Robotics Books

Book SynopsisInvestigates the complexities of the theory of probabilistic localisation and mapping of mobile robots as well as providing the most current and concrete developments. This reference source aims to be useful for practitioners, graduate and postgraduate students, and active researchers alike.

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Book SynopsisOne of Time magazine''s ''32 Books You Need to Read This Summer'' -- ''a riveting read''.''Intensely readable, downright terrifying, and surprisingly uplifting.''Vanity Fair''A fascinating work of imaginative futurology, a science journalist takes a look at our current technologies and anticipates the human-robot future that could await us - one full of warrior bots, politician bots, doctor bots and sex bots.''One of Barbara VanDenburgh''s ''5 Books Not to Miss'', USA TodayOne of the best summer reads of 2019, according to top authors David Baldacci and Elizabeth Acevedo on USA Today''s Today programme. ''A refreshing variation on the will-intelligent-robots-bring-Armageddon genre . . . this colorful mixture of expert futurology and quirky speculation does not disappoint'' Kirkus ReviewsWhat robot and AI systems are being built and imagined right now? What do they say about usTrade ReviewA refreshing variation on the will-intelligent-robots-bring-Armageddon genre . . . this colorful mixture of expert futurology and quirky speculation does not disappoint. * Kirkus *Duncan writes the way good teachers teach, conversational, yet informed . . . [he] is a popularizer and storyteller. * USA Today *A riveting read. * Time Magazine *A brilliant chronicle of encounters with our future selves. -- Andrei Codrescu, bestselling author and NPR commentator'Intensely readable, downright terrifying, and surprisingly uplifting.' * Vanity Fair *'A fascinating work of imaginative futurology, a science journalist takes a look at our current technologies and anticipates the human-robot future that could await us - one full of warrior bots, politician bots, doctor bots and sex bots.' -- Barbara VanDenburgh * ‘5 Books Not to Miss’, USA Today *One of the best summer reads of 2019. -- David Baldacci and Elizabeth Acevedo * USA Today’s Today programme *

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Book Synopsis''If you want to see what that future might look like, Duncan''s book is a fun place to start''NPR''Intensely readable, downright terrifying, and surprisingly uplifting'' Vanity Fair ''5 books not to miss . . . A fascinating work of imaginative futurology''USA TodayOne of Time magazine''s ''32 Books You Need to Read This Summer'' - ''a riveting read'' One of David Baldacci and Elizabeth Acevedo''s best summer reads, on USA Today''s Today programme ''A refreshing variation on the will-intelligent-robots-bring-Armageddon genre . . . this colourful mixture of expert futurology and quirky speculation does not disappoint'' Kirkus ReviewsWhat robot and AI systems are being built and imagined right now? What do they say about us, their creators? Will they usher in a fantastic new future, or destroy us? What do some of our greatest thinkers, from physiciTrade ReviewA refreshing variation on the will-intelligent-robots-bring-Armageddon genre . . . this colorful mixture of expert futurology and quirky speculation does not disappoint. * Kirkus *Duncan writes the way good teachers teach, conversational, yet informed . . . [he] is a popularizer and storyteller. * USA Today *A riveting read. * Time Magazine *A brilliant chronicle of encounters with our future selves. -- Andrei Codrescu, bestselling author and NPR commentator'Intensely readable, downright terrifying, and surprisingly uplifting.' * Vanity Fair *'A fascinating work of imaginative futurology, a science journalist takes a look at our current technologies and anticipates the human-robot future that could await us - one full of warrior bots, politician bots, doctor bots and sex bots.' -- Barbara VanDenburgh * ‘5 Books Not to Miss’, USA Today *One of the best summer reads of 2019. -- David Baldacci and Elizabeth Acevedo * USA Today’s Today programme *

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Book Synopsis''Illuminating, witty and written with a wide open mind'' - Sunday TimesAn exploration of humans, sexuality, interaction and technology through the lens of the sex robot.The idea of the seductive sex robot is the stuff of myth, legend and science fiction. From the myth of Laodamia in Ancient Greece to twenty-first century TV shows such as Westworld, robots in human form have captured our imagination, our hopes and our fears. But beyond the fantasies there are real and fundamental questions about our relationship with technology as it moves into the realm of robotics.Turned On explores how the emerging and future development of sexual companion robots might affect us and the society in which we live. It explores the social changes arising from emerging technologies, and our relationships with the machines that someday may care for us and about us. Sex robots are here, and here to stay, and more are coming. Computer scientistTrade ReviewIlluminating, witty and written with a wide open mind. * Sunday Times *A lively, waggish guide to these uncharted waters, tracing ethics, sexuality, intimacy and the uncanny. * Tatler *A highly readable romp through the history of computers, robots and sex toys [...] A fascinating introduction to the state of sex-tech. * Science *For fans of Humans, Westworld and I, Robot. Or anyone who's ever enjoyed a flirtation with Alexa. Devlin takes us right through the AI revolution and its potential impact on our relationships [with] a relaxed and chatty tone. * Cosmopolitan *An engaging survey of the history of humanoids. * Financial Times *A timely, vital treatise [...] With charm and wit she tackles thorny issues. * Wired *An unusually cool-headed tour of the current sexbot terrain. [...] Devlin's calmer, more evidence-based middle path seems appealing, especially in an area where so much polemic has already risked deadening the nerves. * Harper's Magazine *One of Devlin's achievements is to humanise the sex robot makers and users – we are invited not to laugh at them, but to understand them. * The Times *Big on breadth and charm ... loaded with facts and anecdotes. * The Saturday Paper *This brilliant book is an intelligent, clear-eyed and often very funny deep dive into the history and future of love and machinery. -- Warren Ellis, author of TransmetropolitanAfter millennia of fornicating with foreign objects, the ultimate sex toy has finally arrived. Kate Devlin unpacks the very long, very dense history of the sex robot with style and wit. Spoiler alert: we haven't reached Westworld ... yet. -- Christopher Trout, Editor-in-Chief, EngadgetIn Turned On, Kate Devlin – the thinking person's navigator to the complex and potentially life-enhancing terrain of the sex robot – looks at the history of AI-enhanced erotic toys, then ventures far beyond our wildest imaginings. -- Rowan Pelling, Editor of The AmoristTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Been There, Done That Chapter 2: I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Overlords Chapter 3: On Paperclips, Cats and Zombies Chapter 4: You Had Me at ‘Hello World’ Chapter 5: Silicone Valleys Chapter 6: Killer Gynoids and Manic Pixie Dream Bots Chapter 7: It’s All Academic Chapter 8: Utopia/Dystopia Chapter 9: Law and Disorders Chapter 10: What Comes Next? Epilogue: Better Loving Through Technology Select References Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisIn Surrogate Humanity Neda Atanasoski and Kalindi Vora trace the ways in which robots, artificial intelligence, and other technologies serve as surrogates for human workers within a labor system entrenched in racial capitalism and patriarchy. Analyzing myriad technologies, from sex robots and military drones to sharing-economy platforms, Atanasoski and Vora show how liberal structures of antiblackness, settler colonialism, and patriarchy are fundamental to human---machine interactions, as well as the very definition of the human. While these new technologies and engineering projects promise a revolutionary new future, they replicate and reinforce racialized and gendered ideas about devalued work, exploitation, dispossession, and capitalist accumulation. Yet, even as engineers design robots to be more perfect versions of the human—more rational killers, more efficient workers, and tireless companions—the potential exists to develop alternative modes of engineerinTrade Review“By bringing a much more nuanced reading of race, gender, and difference to science and technology studies, Atanasoski and Vora provoke us to think more deeply about how our imagined technological futures always already serve to reproduce our most problematic pasts—and what forms or processes can disrupt and transcend these. This is a vital project that should speak to us all.” -- Barbara Herr Harthorn * American Ethnologist *“Surrogate Humanity...confirm[s] that the human is a contingent concept.... The authors also spotlight how contemporary discourses concerning automation, in particular, alternately promise liberation and threaten debasement while eliding the roles of racialized and colonial subjects in producing the technologies and materials on which automation relies.” -- Rebecah Pulsifer * Women's Studies Quarterly *“...Surrogate Humanity usefully provides examples from literary, artistic, engineering, and scientific projects that critique or outright refuse technoliberalism’s frame for recognizing full humanity. These rebellious acts of imagination show us that the potential exists to develop alternative designs and trajectories for technological development ... in ways that prioritize equity and justice.” -- Anita Lam * Surveillance & Society *“Surrogate Humanity is a fascinating and important book that provides a much-needed counter narrative to prevailing approaches in science and technology studies.... Complemented by their mode of collaborative writing as a radical feminist act, the book is thus certain to inspire scholars and activists alike....” -- Sibille Merz * Ethnic and Racial Studies *“Atanasoski and Vora’s major intervention in the automation debate is their argument that automation imaginaries are shaped by liberal humanism and the racial hierarchies embedded in it.... One strength of Surrogate Humanity is the range of technological discourses, objects, and processes in which the authors elucidate the logics of technoliberalism.” -- J. Jesse Ramírez * American Quarterly *“Atanasoski andVora write with thoughtful scholarship and careful word selection.... [Surrogate Humanity] also provides a generative grounding in relevant science and technology studies and race theory literatures.... [I]t should be required reading in any sociology course on colonization and empire.” -- Laurel Smith-Doerr * Contemporary Sociology *“Surrogate Humanity questions what it means to be human at all, and is an incredibly useful analysis for anyone interested in shifting from thinking about robots within a tool-using paradigm, to an ethics paradigm.” -- Lindsay Balfour * Cultural Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction: The Surrogate Human Effects of Technoliberalism 1 1. Technoliberalism and Automation: Racial Imaginaries of a Postlabor World 27 2. Sharing, Collaboration, and the Commons in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Appropriative Techniques of Technoliberal Capitalism 54 3. Automation and the Invisible Service Function: Toward an "Artificial Artificial Intelligence" 87 4. The Surrogate Human Affect: The Racial Programming of Robot Emotion 108 5. Machine Autonomy and the Unmanned Spacetime of Technoliberal Warfare 134 6. Killer Robots: Feeling Human in the Field of War 163 Epilogue: On Technoliberal Desire, Or Why There Is No Such Thing as a Feminist A1 188 Notes 197 Bibliography 225 Index 233

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Book SynopsisIn Surrogate Humanity Neda Atanasoski and Kalindi Vora trace the ways in which robots, artificial intelligence, and other technologies serve as surrogates for human workers within a labor system entrenched in racial capitalism and patriarchy. Analyzing myriad technologies, from sex robots and military drones to sharing-economy platforms, Atanasoski and Vora show how liberal structures of antiblackness, settler colonialism, and patriarchy are fundamental to human---machine interactions, as well as the very definition of the human. While these new technologies and engineering projects promise a revolutionary new future, they replicate and reinforce racialized and gendered ideas about devalued work, exploitation, dispossession, and capitalist accumulation. Yet, even as engineers design robots to be more perfect versions of the human—more rational killers, more efficient workers, and tireless companions—the potential exists to develop alternative modes of engineerinTrade Review“By bringing a much more nuanced reading of race, gender, and difference to science and technology studies, Atanasoski and Vora provoke us to think more deeply about how our imagined technological futures always already serve to reproduce our most problematic pasts—and what forms or processes can disrupt and transcend these. This is a vital project that should speak to us all.” -- Barbara Herr Harthorn * American Ethnologist *“Surrogate Humanity...confirm[s] that the human is a contingent concept.... The authors also spotlight how contemporary discourses concerning automation, in particular, alternately promise liberation and threaten debasement while eliding the roles of racialized and colonial subjects in producing the technologies and materials on which automation relies.” -- Rebecah Pulsifer * Women's Studies Quarterly *“...Surrogate Humanity usefully provides examples from literary, artistic, engineering, and scientific projects that critique or outright refuse technoliberalism’s frame for recognizing full humanity. These rebellious acts of imagination show us that the potential exists to develop alternative designs and trajectories for technological development ... in ways that prioritize equity and justice.” -- Anita Lam * Surveillance & Society *“Surrogate Humanity is a fascinating and important book that provides a much-needed counter narrative to prevailing approaches in science and technology studies.... Complemented by their mode of collaborative writing as a radical feminist act, the book is thus certain to inspire scholars and activists alike....” -- Sibille Merz * Ethnic and Racial Studies *“Atanasoski and Vora’s major intervention in the automation debate is their argument that automation imaginaries are shaped by liberal humanism and the racial hierarchies embedded in it.... One strength of Surrogate Humanity is the range of technological discourses, objects, and processes in which the authors elucidate the logics of technoliberalism.” -- J. Jesse Ramírez * American Quarterly *“Atanasoski andVora write with thoughtful scholarship and careful word selection.... [Surrogate Humanity] also provides a generative grounding in relevant science and technology studies and race theory literatures.... [I]t should be required reading in any sociology course on colonization and empire.” -- Laurel Smith-Doerr * Contemporary Sociology *“Surrogate Humanity questions what it means to be human at all, and is an incredibly useful analysis for anyone interested in shifting from thinking about robots within a tool-using paradigm, to an ethics paradigm.” -- Lindsay Balfour * Cultural Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii Introduction: The Surrogate Human Effects of Technoliberalism 1 1. Technoliberalism and Automation: Racial Imaginaries of a Postlabor World 27 2. Sharing, Collaboration, and the Commons in the Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Appropriative Techniques of Technoliberal Capitalism 54 3. Automation and the Invisible Service Function: Toward an "Artificial Artificial Intelligence" 87 4. The Surrogate Human Affect: The Racial Programming of Robot Emotion 108 5. Machine Autonomy and the Unmanned Spacetime of Technoliberal Warfare 134 6. Killer Robots: Feeling Human in the Field of War 163 Epilogue: On Technoliberal Desire, Or Why There Is No Such Thing as a Feminist A1 188 Notes 197 Bibliography 225 Index 233

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Book SynopsisNumerical Algorithms: Methods for Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and Graphics presents a new approach to numerical analysis for modern computer scientists. Using examples from a broad base of computational tasks, including data processing, computational photography, and animation, the textbook introduces numerical modeling and algorithmic design from a practical standpoint and provides insight into the theoretical tools needed to support these skills.The book covers a wide range of topicsfrom numerical linear algebra to optimization and differential equationsfocusing on real-world motivation and unifying themes. It incorporates cases from computer science research and practice, accompanied by highlights from in-depth literature on each subtopic. Comprehensive end-of-chapter exercises encourage critical thinking and build students' intuition while introducing extensions of the basic material.The text is designed for advanced undergraduTrade Review"This book covers an impressive array of topics, many of which are paired with a real-world application. Its conversational style and relatively few theorem-proofs make it well suited for computer science students as well as professionals looking for a refresher."—Dianne Hansford, FarinHansford.comTable of ContentsPreliminaries: Mathematics Review. Numerics and Error Analysis. Linear Algebra: Linear Systems and the LU Decomposition. Designing and Analyzing Linear Systems. Column Spaces and QR. Eigenvectors. Singular Value Decomposition. Nonlinear Techniques: Nonlinear Systems. Unconstrained Optimization. Constrained Optimization. Iterative Linear Solvers. Specialized Optimization Methods. Functions, Derivatives, and Integrals: Interpolation. Integration and Differentiation. Ordinary Differential Equations. Partial Differential Equations.

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Book SynopsisA social robot is a robot that interacts and communicates with humans or other autonomous physical agents by following social behaviors and rules attached to its role. We seem to accept the use of robots that perform dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs. But how far do we want to go with the automation of care for children and the elderly, or the killing of terrorists? Would we be setting humanity aside if we accepted such automation?Just Ordinary Robots: Automation from Love to War provides a socially involved, yet sober, view into the new age of robots. It supplies a cutting-edge look at robot technologies, including what these technologies are capable of and the ethical and regulatory questions they raise.The book surveys the various types of social robots and examines their social significance in homes, health care, traffic, the police, and the military. Considering the technical characteristics and societal expectations of robots in these areaTrade Review"Just Ordinary Robots: Automation from Love to War examines the social significance of the new generation of five types of robots: the home robot, the care robot, police and private drones, the car robot, and the military robot. ... This book is the result of many years of research by the Rathenau Institute, The Netherlands’ key research and debating center for science, technology, and society. In 2012, this research led to the publication of the Dutch book Overal Robots (Robots Everywhere), written by Lambèr Royakkers, Floortje Daemen, and Rinie van Est. This book is an updated and drastically revised version of that book."—From the Book’s Foreword by Frans Brom, Head of Technology Assessment, Rathenau Institute, The Hague, The NetherlandsTable of ContentsRobots Everywhere. Home Is Where the Robot Is: Mechanoids, Humanoids, and Androids. Taking Care of Our Parents: The Role of Domotics and Robots. Drones in the City: Toward a Floating Robotic Panopticon? Who Drives the Car? Armed Military Drones: The Ethics behind Various Degrees of Autonomy. Automation from Love to War.

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Book SynopsisImprove the Safety, Flexibility, and Reliability of Autonomous Navigation in Complex EnvironmentsAutonomous Vehicle Navigation: From Behavioral to Hybrid Multi-Controller Architectures explores the use of multi-controller architectures in fully autonomous robot navigationeven in highly dynamic and cluttered environments. Accessible to researchers and graduate students involved in mobile robotics and fully autonomous vehicle navigation, the book presents novel techniques and concepts that address different complex mobile robot tasks.The author examines the development of reliable elementary controllers and proposes mechanisms to manage the interaction of these multi-controller architectures while addressing different constraints and enhancing metrics/criteria linked to the safety, flexibility, and reliability of the proposed control architectures. He covers the modeling of subtasks, reliable obstacle avoidance, appropriate stable controlTable of ContentsGlobal concepts/challenges related to the control of intelligent mobile robots. Autonomous navigation in cluttered environments. HybridCD (continuous/discrete) multi-controller architectures. HybridRC (reactive/cognitive) and homogeneous control architecture based on PELC. Flexible and reliable autonomous vehicle’s navigation using optimal waypoint configuration. Cooperative control of multi-robot systems. General conclusion and prospects. Appendices.

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Book SynopsisA Systematic Approach to Learning Robot Programming with ROS provides a comprehensive, introduction to the essential components of ROS through detailed explanations of simple code examples along with the corresponding theory of operation. The book explores the organization of ROS, how to understand ROS packages, how to use ROS tools, how to incorporate existing ROS packages into new applications, and how to develop new packages for robotics and automation. It also facilitates continuing education by preparing the reader to better understand the existing on-line documentation.The book is organized into six parts. It begins with an introduction to ROS foundations, including writing ROS nodes and ROS tools. Messages, Classes, and Servers are also covered. The second part of the book features simulation and visualization with ROS, including coordinate transforms. The next part of the book discusses perceptual processing in ROS. It inTable of ContentsROS FOUNDATIONS. Introduction to ROS: ROS tools and nodes. Messages, Classes and Servers. SIMULATION AND VISUALIZATION IN ROS. Simulation in ROS. Coordinate Transforms in ROS. Sensing and Visualization in ROS. PERCEPTUAL PROCESSING IN ROS. Using Cameras in ROS. Depth Imaging and Point Clouds. Point Cloud Processing. MOBILE ROBOTS IN ROS. Mobile-Robot. Motion Control. Mobile-Robot Navigation. ROBOT ARMS IN ROS. Low-Level Control. Robot Arm Kinematics. Arm Motion Planning. Arm Control with the Baxter Simulator. An Object-Grabber Package. SYSTEM INTEGRATION AND HIGHER-LEVEL CONTROL. Perception-Based Manipulation. Mobile Manipulation

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“Mr. Waldman follows all the drama like a fly on a brick wall, richly reporting scenes and conversations, many on job sites where both circuitry and civility break down. The book is reminiscent of a reality-TV show about a scrappy startup, complete with backstory segments as we learn the pasts and personalities of each new hire. . . . None of it is boring.” —The Wall Street Journal“SAM reveals a world that surrounds us but mostly eludes our notice—and that’s quite a feat.” —The Boston Globe“Fascinating . . . It’s a story with enough twists and turns and surprising conflict to engage even those who have never looked closely at a brick, or wanted to. . . . Waldman’s endless curiosity and lively explanations make the book irresistible for anyone inquisitive about machines and the people who make and use them.” —The Columbus Dispatch“[A] gripping tale . . . As one learns a great deal about geology from John McPhee and computers from Tracy Kidder, Waldman offers a lively, accessible overview of the bricklayer’s art, which is much more complex than one might think. Apart from engendering an appreciation for the uses of technology, the author also adds to the literature surrounding the dignity of artful labor. Human meets machine, and both prevail in an engaging story of technology and discovery.” —Kirkus Reviews“A compelling, well-paced, and engaging account of the innovations developed by the startup Construction Robotics. . . . Fans of applied iterative trial and error, common to all innovation work, will appreciate this latest piece of popular science and technology.” —Library Journal (starred review)“A lively look at the team behind SAM, a ‘semi-automated mason’ bricklaying machine . . . This gripping story . . . proves its author to be an industrious reporter and natural storyteller.” —Publishers Weekly“Jonathan Waldman is our next Tracy Kidder. A true-life business journey, SAM reads like a movie.” —Seth Godin, author of This Is Marketing"Jonny has delved deep into an intriguing entrepreneurial story that includes robots, bricks, construction, and all of the ups and downs of trying to get a business off the ground. Unlike many of today's 'just raise a ton of money and then good things will happen' stories, this is an awesome tale of grit, endurance, and relentless optimism against almost all odds. When you toss in the history and evolution of a bricklayer, you get a fascinating story. Read it—you'll love it like I did." —Brad Feld, Foundry Group

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Book SynopsisTracing the connections between human-like robots and AI at the site of dehumanization and exploited labor The word robot—introduced in Karel Čapek’s 1920 play R.U.R.—derives from rabota, the Czech word for servitude or forced labor. A century later, the play’s dystopian themes of dehumanization and exploited labor are being played out in factories, workplaces, and battlefields. In The Robotic Imaginary, Jennifer Rhee traces the provocative and productive connections of contemporary robots in technology, film, art, and literature. Centered around the twinned processes of anthropomorphization and dehumanization, she analyzes the coevolution of cultural and technological robots and artificial intelligence, arguing that it is through the conceptualization of the human and, more important, the dehumanized that these multiple spheres affect and transform each other.Drawing on the writings of Alan Turing, Sara Ahmed, and Arlie Russell Hochschild; such films and novels as Her and The Stepford Wives; technologies like Kismet (the pioneering “emotional robot”); and contemporary drone art, this book explores anthropomorphic paradigms in robot design and imagery in ways that often challenge the very grounds on which those paradigms operate in robotics labs and industry. From disembodied, conversational AI and its entanglement with care labor; embodied mobile robots as they intersect with domestic labor; emotional robots impacting affective labor; and armed military drones and artistic responses to drone warfare, The Robotic Imaginary ultimately reveals how the human is made knowable through the design of and discourse on humanoid robots that are, paradoxically, dehumanized. Trade Review"The Robotic Imaginary persuasively shows how contemporary depictions of robots and AI offer unique insight into both the governing conceptions of the human (of who does and doesn’t count as fully human) and the gendered and racialized ways in which we are currently imagining and constructing labor."—Priscilla Wald, author of Contagious: Cultures, Carriers, and the Outbreak Narrative"The Robotic Imaginary is a profound contribution to our comprehension of ‘the human,’ read through technocultures of artificial intelligence and robotics. Jennifer Rhee makes an incisive and compelling argument for the connections between histories of devalued labor and of the dehumanized Other, and the limits of identification and knowability as the basis for an ethics of caring, thinking, feeling, and dying."—Lucy Suchman, author of Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated ActionsTable of ContentsIntroduction: All Too Dehumanized1. Caring: Care Labor, Conversational Artificial Intelligence, and Disembodied Women2. Thinking: Closed Worlds, Domestic Labor, and Situated Robotics3. Feeling: Emotional Labor, Sociable Robots, and Shameless Androids4. Dying: Drone Labor, War, and the DehumanizedEpilogue. The Human: That Which We Have Yet to KnowAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisTracing the connections between human-like robots and AI at the site of dehumanization and exploited labor The word robot—introduced in Karel Čapek’s 1920 play R.U.R.—derives from rabota, the Czech word for servitude or forced labor. A century later, the play’s dystopian themes of dehumanization and exploited labor are being played out in factories, workplaces, and battlefields. In The Robotic Imaginary, Jennifer Rhee traces the provocative and productive connections of contemporary robots in technology, film, art, and literature. Centered around the twinned processes of anthropomorphization and dehumanization, she analyzes the coevolution of cultural and technological robots and artificial intelligence, arguing that it is through the conceptualization of the human and, more important, the dehumanized that these multiple spheres affect and transform each other.Drawing on the writings of Alan Turing, Sara Ahmed, and Arlie Russell Hochschild; such films and novels as Her and The Stepford Wives; technologies like Kismet (the pioneering “emotional robot”); and contemporary drone art, this book explores anthropomorphic paradigms in robot design and imagery in ways that often challenge the very grounds on which those paradigms operate in robotics labs and industry. From disembodied, conversational AI and its entanglement with care labor; embodied mobile robots as they intersect with domestic labor; emotional robots impacting affective labor; and armed military drones and artistic responses to drone warfare, The Robotic Imaginary ultimately reveals how the human is made knowable through the design of and discourse on humanoid robots that are, paradoxically, dehumanized. Trade Review"The Robotic Imaginary persuasively shows how contemporary depictions of robots and AI offer unique insight into both the governing conceptions of the human (of who does and doesn’t count as fully human) and the gendered and racialized ways in which we are currently imagining and constructing labor."—Priscilla Wald, author of Contagious: Cultures, Carriers, and the Outbreak Narrative"The Robotic Imaginary is a profound contribution to our comprehension of ‘the human,’ read through technocultures of artificial intelligence and robotics. Jennifer Rhee makes an incisive and compelling argument for the connections between histories of devalued labor and of the dehumanized Other, and the limits of identification and knowability as the basis for an ethics of caring, thinking, feeling, and dying."—Lucy Suchman, author of Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated ActionsTable of ContentsIntroduction: All Too Dehumanized1. Caring: Care Labor, Conversational Artificial Intelligence, and Disembodied Women2. Thinking: Closed Worlds, Domestic Labor, and Situated Robotics3. Feeling: Emotional Labor, Sociable Robots, and Shameless Androids4. Dying: Drone Labor, War, and the DehumanizedEpilogue. The Human: That Which We Have Yet to KnowAcknowledgmentsNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisBig data and artificial intelligence (AI) are at the forefront of technological advances that represent a potential transformational mega-trend—a new multipolar and innovative disruption. These technologies, and their associated management paradigm, are already rapidly impacting many industries and occupations, but in some sectors, the change is just beginning. Innovating ahead of emerging technologies is the new imperative for any organization that aspires to succeed in the next decade. Faced with the power of this AI movement, it is imperative to understand the dynamics and new codes required by the disruption and to adapt accordingly.AI and Big Data's Potential for Disruptive Innovation provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of successfully implementing new and innovative technologies in a variety of sectors including business, transportation, and healthcare. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as semantic mapping, ethics in AI, and big data governance, this book is ideally designed for IT specialists, industry professionals, managers, executives, researchers, scientists, and engineers seeking current research on the production of new and innovative mechanization and its disruptions.

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Book Synopsis'The best up-to-date, go-to book on the social and economic implications of artificial intelligence - Tyler Cowen'Rule of the Robots explores the future implications of artificial intelligence as a uniquely scalable and potentially disruptive technology.In this sequel to his prescient New York Times bestseller Rise of the Robots, Martin Ford presents us with a striking vision of the very near future. He argues that AI is a uniquely powerful technology, a kind of "electricity of intelligence" that is altering every dimension of human life, often for the better with advanced science being done by machines who can solve problems humans can not. AI has the potential to help us fight climate change or the next pandemic, but it also has a capacity for profound harm. Deep fakes-AI-generated audio or video of events that never happened-are poised to cause havoc throughout society. AI empowers authoritarian regimes like China with unprecedented mechanisms for social control. And AI can be deeply biased, learning bigoted attitudes from the data used to train algorithms and perpetuating them. Hard-hitting and thought-provoking, covering everything from self-driving cars to the history of deep learning to apps for diagnosing skin cancer, Rule of the Robots challenges our fears and preconceptions about artificial intelligence. Ford argues that AI is here to stay and the real question is not how to stop it, but how to control its negative potential and harness its power for good as AI transforms our economy, our politics, and our lives.Trade ReviewProbably the most compelling single-volume book so far on AI's advance and the opportunities and challenges associated with its multi-faceted impact on the world. Those in AI and those outside it will get a lot out of his clear-eyed and critical perspective. I highly recommend it -- James Manyika, Chairman and Director of the McKinsey Global InstituteThere is no technology more important today than AI. Martin Ford continues his tradition of clear insights and observations about this important topic in a well-researched page-turner. A delightful book! -- Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and co-author of The Second Machine AgeThe best up-to-date, go-to book on the social and economic implications of artificial intelligence -- Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics at George Mason UniversityAn incisive, balanced, and well-informed discussion of where AI stands today, how it may evolve, and the risks it poses to human society -- Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley and co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern ApproachWriting about the future of robotics is a dangerous endeavor, since it illuminates every aspect of our lives with a startling, uncharted perspective. Ford navigates this challenge admirably, with an exceptional blend of depth, rigor and clarity -- Judea Pearl, winner of the A.M. Turing Award and co-author of The Book of WhyRule of the Robots is subtle and clever, a book that will challenge readers to reassess their position on AI -- Engineering And TechnologyAccording to software developer Martin Ford, artificial intelligence (AI) will probably transform society faster than electricity did, but with unpredictable effects. His well-informed study notes a 2016 forecast that within five years, radiologists would be overtaken by advances in AI. But that hasn't happened: AI cannot currently integrate key information from sources such as clinical notes. AI's future, Ford concludes, lies somewhere between the science-fictional extremes of utopian Star Trek and dystopian The Matrix -- NatureA good read and . . . a balanced perspective on both the benefits and costs of increasingly widespread use of AI -- Diane Coyle, Enlightenment Economics

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Book SynopsisIn this sequel to his prescient New York Times bestseller Rise of the Robots, Martin Ford presents us with a striking vision of the very near future. He argues that AI is a uniquely powerful technology, a kind of "electricity of intelligence" that is altering every dimension of human life, often for the better with advanced science being done by machines who can solve problems humans can not. AI has the potential to help us fight climate change or the next pandemic, but it also has a capacity for profound harm. Deep fakes-AI-generated audio or video of events that never happened-are poised to cause havoc throughout society. AI empowers authoritarian regimes like China with unprecedented mechanisms for social control. And AI can be deeply biased, learning bigoted attitudes from the data used to train algorithms and perpetuating them. Hard-hitting and thought-provoking, covering everything from self-driving cars to the history of deep learning to apps for diagnosing skin cancer, Rule of the Robots challenges our fears and preconceptions about artificial intelligence. Ford argues that AI is here to stay and the real question is not how to stop it, but how to control its negative potential and harness its power for good as AI transforms our economy, our politics, and our lives.Trade ReviewProbably the most compelling single-volume book so far on AI's advance and the opportunities and challenges associated with its multi-faceted impact on the world. Those in AI and those outside it will get a lot out of his clear-eyed and critical perspective. I highly recommend it -- James Manyika, Chairman and Director of the McKinsey Global InstituteThere is no technology more important today than AI. Martin Ford continues his tradition of clear insights and observations about this important topic in a well-researched page-turner. A delightful book! -- Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and co-author of The Second Machine AgeThe best up-to-date, go-to book on the social and economic implications of artificial intelligence -- Tyler Cowen, Professor of Economics at George Mason UniversityAn incisive, balanced, and well-informed discussion of where AI stands today, how it may evolve, and the risks it poses to human society -- Stuart Russell, Professor of Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley and co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern ApproachWriting about the future of robotics is a dangerous endeavor, since it illuminates every aspect of our lives with a startling, uncharted perspective. Ford navigates this challenge admirably, with an exceptional blend of depth, rigor and clarity -- Judea Pearl, winner of the A.M. Turing Award and co-author of The Book of WhyRule of the Robots is subtle and clever, a book that will challenge readers to reassess their position on AI -- Engineering And TechnologyAccording to software developer Martin Ford, artificial intelligence (AI) will probably transform society faster than electricity did, but with unpredictable effects. His well-informed study notes a 2016 forecast that within five years, radiologists would be overtaken by advances in AI. But that hasn't happened: AI cannot currently integrate key information from sources such as clinical notes. AI's future, Ford concludes, lies somewhere between the science-fictional extremes of utopian Star Trek and dystopian The Matrix -- NatureA good read and . . . a balanced perspective on both the benefits and costs of increasingly widespread use of AI -- Diane Coyle, Enlightenment Economics

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Book SynopsisUnmanned marine vehicles (UMVs) is a collective term commonly used to describe autonomous underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicles, semi-submersibles, and unmanned surface craft. UMVs are heavily used in the military, civilian, and scientific communities for undertaking designated missions whilst either operating autonomously and/or in co-operation with other types of vehicles. Advanced marine vehicles are increasing their capabilities and the degree of autonomy more and more in order to perform more sophisticated maritime missions. Remotely operated vehicles are no longer cost-effective since they are limited by economic support costs, and the presence and skills of the human operator. Alternatively, autonomous surface and underwater vehicles have the potential to operate with greatly reduced overhead costs and level of operator intervention. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS); these include a UAV, a ground-based controller, and a system of communications between the two. Compared to manned aircraft, UAVs were originally used for missions too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for humans. While they originated mostly in military applications, their use is rapidly expanding to commercial, scientific, recreational, agricultural, and other applications such as policing, peacekeeping and surveillance, product deliveries, aerial photography, agriculture, smuggling, and drone racing. Civilian UAVs now vastly outnumber military UAVs, with estimates of over a million sold by 2015, so they can be seen as an early commercial application of Autonomous Things, to be followed by the autonomous car and home robots. Nowadays, UMVs and UAVs are playing an increasingly important role in both controlling community and engineering applications. For example, UMVs and UAVs provide more efficient ways to execute various challenging tasks. However, these systems are usually featured with dynamics coupling, actuator saturation, underactuated structure, time-varying disturbance, etc., thereby resulting in great challenges and difficulties in system analysis and controller design. Recently, by employing intelligent approaches, advanced control methodologies for unmanned systems have been rapidly developed. Note that the dynamic environment is usually changing and the unmanned systems must adapt themselves accordingly. In this context, on one hand, more efforts should be focused on the methodology of the learning system. For example, fast adaptation and self-organizing capability are essentially required. On the other hand, advanced analysis tools should be deployed to enhance the control performance. Towards this end, human-like intelligence should be integrated tightly with nonlinear design for complex control tasks of autonomous systems. The main objective of this edited book is to address various challenges and issues pertinent to the intelligent control of UMVs and UAVs. (Nova)

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Book SynopsisThe dominant theme of this book is to introduce the different path planning methods and present some of the most appropriate ones for robotic routing; methods that are capable of running on a variety of robots and are resistant to disturbances; being real-time, being autonomous, and the ability to identify high-risk areas and risk management are the other features that will be mentioned in the introduction of the methods. The introduction of the profound significance of the robots and delineation of the navigation and routing theme is provided in the first chapter of the book. The second chapter is concerned with the subject of routing in unknown environments. In the first part of this chapter, the family of bug algorithms including are described. In the following, several conventional methods are submitted. The last part of this chapter is dedicated to the introduction of two recently developed routing methods. In Chapter 3, routing is reviewed in the known environment in which the robot either utilizes the created maps by extraneous sources or makes use of the sensor in order to prepare the maps from the local environment. The robot path planning relying on the robot vision sensors and applicable computing hardware are concentrated in the fourth chapter. The first part of this chapter deals with routing methods supported mapping capabilities. The second part manages the routing dependent on the vision sensor, typically known as the best sensor, within the routing subject. The movement of two-dimensional robots with two or three degrees of freedom is analyzed within the third part of this chapter. In Chapter 5, the performance of a few of the foremost important routing methods initiating from the second to fourth chapters is conferred regarding the implementation in various environments. The first part of this chapter is engaged in the implementation of the algorithms Bug1, Bug2, and Distbug on the pioneering robot. In the second part, a theoretical technique is planned to boost the robot's performance in line with obstacle collision avoidance. This method, underlying the tangential escape, seeks to proceed with the robot through various obstacles with curved corners. In the third and fourth parts of this chapter, path planning in different environments is preceded in the absence and the presence of danger space. Accordingly, four approaches, named artificial fuzzy potential field, linguistic technique, Markov decision making processes, and fuzzy Markov decision making have been proposed in two following parts and enforced on the Nao humanoid robot.Table of ContentsPrefaceIntroductionPath Planning in Unknown EnvironmentsPath Planning in Known EnvironmentsPath Planning and Robots HardwareImplementation of Path Planning AlgorithmsIndex.

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Book SynopsisThis book's aim is to explore the Robotic Platform Control with Atmega328 and NuttyFi based Internet of Things (IoT). IoT is network of networks and analytics system which exploits sensing, big data and artificial intelligence technology for complete system or service. IoT has applications across industries due to its unique flexibility and ability to be suitable in any environment. This book provides the basic knowledge of mobile apps with their design steps and programs. The objective of this book is to discuss the various methods to control the robotic platform where the Internet of Things plays an important role. This text is beneficial for people who want to get started with hardware-based robotics prototypes using the IoT. Mobile platform is one of the most popular devices. It is designed for sports robots (football, volleyball etc.), rescue operations (fire-fighting, person or object finding etc.) and many other uses. This book discusses the different components required in the design process of the robot.Table of ContentsPreface; Introduction to Microcontroller Platforms for Internet of Thing Applications; Mobile Robotic Platform; Interfacing of Display devices with Microcontroller platform; Interfacing of input devices with Microcontroller platform; Interfacing of Actuator with Microcontroller platform; Interfacing of Analog Sensor with Microcontroller platform; Interfacing of devices in I2C and mode; Wireless Communication modules; Robot Control; Index.

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Book SynopsisThis is an essential reference source that explores the fundamentals of kinematics, dynamics and industrial robot control as well as a new generation of industrial robots, the collaborative robots or cobots. The tendency in Industry 4.0 towards the mass customisation of products, shorter product cycles and quality demands has led to the introduction of collaborative robot's systems capable of learning and working hand-in-hand with humans. Collaborative robots in the industry target the enhancement of production efficiency by combining the best of human operators and the industrial robots' accuracy, speed and reliability. The advances in smart sensors, artificial intelligence, digital twin, cyber-physical systems and the adoption of exoskeletons in industrial applications have opened new possibilities for technological progress in manufacturing, which led to efficient and flexible factories. This requires individuals to be educated in trends that are now focused on the design, monitoring and control of smart production processes. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics such as new trends in human-robot collaboration, advanced vision technology and artificial intelligence, as well as application of industry robots in metal and wood industry, this book is ideally designed for electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, manufacturers, supply chain managers, logistics specialists, investors, managers, policymakers, production scientists, researchers, academicians and students at the postgraduate level.Table of ContentsPreface; The Application of Robots in the Industry; Industrial Robot Systems and Classifications; Sensors in Robotics; 3D Robotic Vision; Robot Vision in Industrial Applications; Robot Actuators; Kinematics and Dynamics of Robots; Collaborative Robots: Overview and Future Trends; Artificial Intelligence Driving Advances in Human-Robot Collaboration; The Study on Key Technologies of Collaborative Robot, Sensorless Applications and Extenstions; The Application of Robots in the Metal Industry; The Implementation of Robots in Wood Industry; Human Grasping as an Archetype of Grasping in Robotics: New Contributions in Premises, Experimentation and Mathematical Modeling; Application of Industrial Robots for Robotic Machining; Index.

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Book SynopsisFormation control is one of the most challenging problems in cooperative multi-robots. It is defined as a coordination of a group of robots to get into and to maintain a formation with a certain shape. The formation control problem has drawn significant attention for many years, and now it is well understood and tends to be mature. This control problem is originated from biological inspires such as flocking and schooling. Its classification includes formation shape generation, formation reconfiguration and selection, formation tracking, and role assignment in formation. It also has potential applications in search and rescue missions, forest fire detection and surveillance, etc. It can be extended to many real-world systems, autonomous robots, such as underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, mobile sensor networks, rectangular agents, nonholonomic mobile robots, to name but a few. Apparently, the book cannot include all research topics. The editor and the authors wish that it could reveal some tendencies on this research field and benefit readers. In this book, different aspects of formation control are explored. Chapters includes some new tendencies and developments in research on several formation methods of multi-robot systems, that is, the 1st-order sliding mode control, the 2nd-order sliding mode control, the integral sliding mode control, the terminal sliding mode control, the sliding model control of multi-agents and the fuzzy-based formation control of multiple quadrotor systems.Table of ContentsPreface; Modelling of Leader-Follower Formations; 1st-Order Sliding Mode-Based Formation Design; Coordinated Formation via an Adaptive-Gain 2nd-Order Sliding Mode Method; Integral Sliding Mode-Based Formation Maneuvers of Multi-Agent Robots; Leader-Following Formation Control of Multiple Agents via Derivative and Integral Terminal Sliding Mode; Extreme Learning Machine-Based Sliding Mode Formation Maneuvers for Multi-Robot Systems; Formation Design of Multiple Agents with Uncertainties by Integral Sliding Mode; A Fuzzy Logic-Based Adaptive Strictly Negative-Imaginary Formation Controller for Multi-Quadrotor Systems; Index.

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Book SynopsisFor however smart your Roomba or Alexa might seem, historically, robots have been fairly dumb. They are only able to do their jobs when given a narrow set of tasks, confined in a controlled environment, and overseen by a human operator. But things are changing. A new breed of robots is in development that will operate largely on their own. They'll drive on roads and sidewalks, ferry deliveries within buildings, stock shelves in stores, and coordinate teams of doctors and nurses. These autonomous systems will find their way into busy, often unpredictable public spaces. They could be truly collaborative, augmenting human work by attending to the parts of tasks we don't do as well, without our having to stop and direct them. But consider, for a moment, the sorcerer's apprentice. The broom he set to work was also supposed to be collaborative, too, and should have made his life much easier. But the broom didn't know how to behave, and the apprentice no longer understood the thing he had made. The challenge of this next generation of robots is that, like the apprentice's broom, they will wreak complete havoc, inadvertently hurting or even killing people, unless we can recognize a simple truth: collaborative robots will be the first truly social creatures that technology has created. They will need to know how to behave in unfamiliar spaces and around untrained users and bystanders.Robot experts Julie Shah and Laura Major are among those engineers leading the development of collaborative robots, and in this book, they will offer their vision for how to make it in the new era of human-robot collaboration. They set out the blueprint for what they call working robots, which in many ways resemble service animals, and take readers through the many fascinating and surprising challenges that both engineers and the public will need to address in figuring out these machines can be responsibly integrated into society: what they will have to look like, how they will have to talk to strangers and what robot etiquette will be, whether we will have to "robot-proof" public spaces and infrastructure, and how the safety-critical work of human-robot collaboration will force a sea change in how the tech industry is regulated. Today, we still gawk at a car that drives by without a driver. Tomorrow, you might find yourself driving next to five of them. We can debate whether the singularity will ever come, but robots need not be superintelligent in order to revolutionize our relationship to technology. Read this book to find out how.

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Book SynopsisRobotics has worked its way from science fiction to science without the fiction to widespread applications not only in manufacturing but in medical research and other fields as well. Progress had been accelerated by the faster-than-light advances in miniaturisation. This book provides important citations, primarily to the book literature, with access through author, subject and title indexes.

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Book SynopsisThis book deals with control and learning in robotic systems.

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