Robotics: A Very Short Introduction (very Short Introductions)
by Alan Winfield /
2012 / English / EPUB
5.3 MB Download
Robotics is a key technology in the modern world, a
well-established part of manufacturing and warehouse automation,
assembling cars or washing machines, or moving goods to and from
storage racks for Internet mail order. Robots have taken their
first steps into homes and hospitals, and have seen spectacular
success in planetary exploration. Yet despite these successes,
robots have failed to live up to the predictions of the 1950s and
60s, when it was widely thought--by scientists as well as the
public--that we would have, by now, intelligent robots as butlers,
companions, or co-workers. This
Robotics is a key technology in the modern world, a
well-established part of manufacturing and warehouse automation,
assembling cars or washing machines, or moving goods to and from
storage racks for Internet mail order. Robots have taken their
first steps into homes and hospitals, and have seen spectacular
success in planetary exploration. Yet despite these successes,
robots have failed to live up to the predictions of the 1950s and
60s, when it was widely thought--by scientists as well as the
public--that we would have, by now, intelligent robots as butlers,
companions, or co-workers. ThisVery Short Introduction
Very Short Introduction
explains how it is that robotics can be both a success story and a
disappointment, and how robots can be both ordinary and remarkable.
Alan Winfield introduces the subject by looking at the parts that
together make a robot. Not surprisingly, these parts each have a
biological equivalent: a robot's camera is like an animal's eyes, a
robot's microcomputer is equivalent to an animal's brain, and so
on. By introducing robots in this way this book builds a
conceptual, non-technical picture of what a robot is, how it works,
and how "intelligent" it is.
explains how it is that robotics can be both a success story and a
disappointment, and how robots can be both ordinary and remarkable.
Alan Winfield introduces the subject by looking at the parts that
together make a robot. Not surprisingly, these parts each have a
biological equivalent: a robot's camera is like an animal's eyes, a
robot's microcomputer is equivalent to an animal's brain, and so
on. By introducing robots in this way this book builds a
conceptual, non-technical picture of what a robot is, how it works,
and how "intelligent" it is.
