Introduction to AI Robotics

This text covers all the material needed to understand the principles behind the AI approach to robotics and to programme an artificially intelligent robot for applications involving sensing, navigation, planning and uncertainty.

Robin Murphy is extremely effective at combining theoretical and practical rigour with a light narrative touch.

In the overview, for example, she touches upon anthropomorphic robots from classic films and science fiction stories before delving into the nuts and bolts of organizing intelligence in robots.Following the overview, Murphy contrasts AI and engineering approaches and discusses what she calls the three paradigms of AI robotics: hierarchical, reactive and hybrid deliberative/reactive.

Later chapters explore multi-agent scenarios, navigation and path-planning for mobile robots, and the basics of computer vision and range sensing.

Each chapter includes objectives, review questions, and exercises.

Many chapters contain one or more case studies showing how the concepts were implemented on real robots.

Murphy, who is well known for her classroom teaching, conveys the intellectual adventure of mastering complex theoretical and technical material.