CAD Based Programming for Sensory Robots

This book consists of a collection of works dealing with CAD based robot programming. This is the process where CAD (computer based) models are used for task planning and the development of robot programs. If the program is generated by a programmer interacting with a CAD display of the robot and its workcell environment, the process is called off-line or interactive programming. On the other hand, if the robot program is generated automatically by the computer, then the process is referred to as automatic robot programming. This book is unique in that it focuses on the use of CAD models both for interactive and automatic robot programming. It brings together representative works from the experts from various disciplines in Engineering and Computer Science working around the world in this area. The subjects discussed in this book cut across several disciplines including CAD/CAM and geometric modeling, robot programming, artificial intelligence, sensory processing and kinematic and dynamic modeling. This book is of special interest to researchers, students and practitioners involved with programming of robot manipulators. It provides them with a comprehensive coverage of the important issues and the representative works in the field.