Computational Principles of Mobile Robotics

The first edition of this book arose from a tutorial that was initially presented in 1993. It evolved over a number of years and finally appeared in 2000. Robotics is, of course, a rapidly changing field, and even as the first edition was appearing, it was apparent that it would become dated rather quickly. Thus in late 2002, the first steps were taken toward a second edition.

The field of mobile robotics continues to evolve, and this book has (we hope) evolved with the field. Topics that were in their infancy when the first edition was published – such as SLAM and multi-robot systems – have evolved into much more mature disciplines. The mathematical foundations of much of mobile robotics has also matured, and this too is reflected in this volume. In addition to updating the various algorithms and methods described in the first edition, the second edition is somewhat more self-contained. Specifically, various mathematical techniques that were assumed in the first edition are now introduced, albeit briefly, in appendices at the end of the text.