Robotic systems, and in particular mobile robotic systems, are the embodiment of a set of complex computational processes, mechanical systems, sensors, user interface, and communications infrastructure. The problems inherent in integrating these components into a working robot can be very challenging. Overall system control requires an approach that can properly handle the complexity of the system goals while dealing with poorly defined tasks and the existence of unplanned and unexpected events. This task is complicated by the non-standard nature of much robotic equipment. Often the hardware seems to have been built following a philosophy of “ease of design” rather that with an eye toward assisting with later system integration.

Some think a green future is the start of world government with distant administrators telling us what to do and think. But such thinking couldn’t be more wrong. Today, most of our energy is already controlled by distant powers, whether renewable or not, either in uncaring corporate boardrooms or by autocratic state players. If we want more control of our daily lives, smaller-sized, scalable renewable energy allows us to become self-sufficient, letting us make our own decisions about our own needs. With an off-grid power setup, no one can tell me what to do.

Most importantly, no one has to go to war again in my name to secure my energy. Conservation, the circular economy, and the concept of “negawatts” are explained using everyday examples in the house, on the road, and in modern industry. Each watt not consumed is a watt saved. Ways to save energy and money through increased efficiency and changed consumer habits are discussed as is the sharing economy that sees fewer cars needed for personal use. Modern fixes to decrease the rise of greenhouse gases are discussed and the failure of government policy to limit global warming.

The fundamentals of analog and digital modulation techniques are presented in Chapter 6. The theoretical underpinnings of the world's most popular amplitude modulations, frequency modulations, and phase modulations are presented. The impact of pulse shape and filtering on bit error rate of a mobile communication system is demonstrated, where Doppler spread creates an irreducible bit error rate no matter how good the signal-to-noise ratio, yet is below the noise created by other aspects of the radio system. This led Europe to select GMSK for the pan-European 2G digital cellular standard, whereas the US selected a pi/4 PSK modulation method originated in Japan that allows both coherent and non-coherent demodulation and a graceful upgrade path for existing operators to adopt the new digital modulation with gradual base station changeouts over time.Capacity and Shannon's limit are defined and explained through numerous examples.

The great discoveries of the past two and a half centuries – the steam engine, electromagnetic induction, the electric power grid, the internal combustion engine, the transistor, personal computers, the internet – change not just the way we live, but an entire global economy. Nothing, however, created more change or made more millionaires than one discovery. By the early 1900s, the iron carriage had made its appearance on the streets of our booming cities, but a new kind of engine and a new kind of fuel would be needed to make a “gasmobile” run. Oil.

Despite the many advances, however, since the start of the petroleum era, ecosystems are failing because of increased industrialization, combustion pollution, and greenhouse gases. Are we seeing the beginning of the end, the twilight of our most gleaming idol? Is the next great global energy transition being forced upon us? In the words of Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi oil minister from 1962 to 1986, “the Stone Age did not end for lack of stone and the Oil Age will end long before the world runs out of oil.” Alas, short-term profits and share price is still being valued over environmental degradation and global warming.

The ability to navigate purposefully through its environment is fundamental to most animals and to every intelligent organism. In this book we examine the computational issues specific to the creation of machines that move intelligently in their environment. From the earliest modern speculation regarding the creation of autonomous robots, it was recognized that regardless of the mechanisms used to move the robot around or the methods used to sense the environment, the computational principles that govern the robot are of paramount importance. As Powell and Donovan discovered in Isaac Asimov’s story “Runaround,” subtle definitions within the programs that control a robot can lead to significant changes in the robot’s overall behavior or action. Moreover, interactions among multiple complex components can lead to large-scale emergent behaviors that may be hard to predict.