Field and Service Robotics, 2010 Results of the 7th International Conference Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics Series, Vol. 62

Robotics is undergoing a major transformation in scope and dimension. From a largely dominant industrial focus, robotics is rapidly expanding into human en- ronments and vigorously engaged in its new challenges. Interacting with, assi- ing, serving, and exploring with humans, the emerging robots will increasingly touch people and their lives. Beyond its impact on physical robots, the body of knowledge robotics has p- duced is revealing a much wider range of applications reaching across diverse research areas and scientific disciplines, such as: biomechanics, haptics, neuros- ences, virtual simulation, animation, surgery, and sensor networks among others. In return, the challenges of the new emerging areas are proving an abundant source of stimulation and insights for the field of robotics. It is indeed at the int- section of disciplines that the most striking advances happen. The Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics (STAR) is devoted to bringing to the research community the latest advances in the robotics field on the basis of their significance and quality. Through a wide and timely dissemination of critical - search developments in robotics, our objective with this series is to promote more exchanges and collaborations among the researchers in the community and c- tribute to further advancements in this rapidly growing field.

Mechanism Design.- Terrain Modeling and Following Using a Compliant Manipulator for Humanitarian Demining Applications.- Towards Autonomous Wheelchair Systems in Urban Environments.- Tethered Detachable Hook for the Spiderman Locomotion (Design of the Hook and Its Launching Winch).- New Measurement Concept for Forest Harvester Head.- Expliner – Toward a Practical Robot for Inspection of High-Voltage Lines.- Perception and Control.- Experimental Study of an Optimal-Control- Based Framework for Trajectory Planning, Threat Assessment, and Semi-Autonomous Control of Passenger Vehicles in Hazard Avoidance Scenarios.- Receding Horizon Model-Predictive Control for Mobile Robot Navigation of Intricate Paths.- Posterior Probability Estimation Techniques Embedded in a Bayes Filter for Vibration-Based Terrain Classification.- Towards Visual Arctic Terrain Assessment.- Tracking and Servoing.- Pedestrian Detection and Tracking Using Three-Dimensional LADAR Data.- Passive, Long-Range Detection of Aircraft: Towards a Field Deployable Sense and Avoid System.- Multiclass Multimodal Detection and Tracking in Urban Environments???.- Vision-Based Vehicle Trajectory Following with Constant Time Delay.- Localization.- Radar Scan Matching SLAM Using the Fourier-Mellin Transform.- An Automated Asset Locating System (AALS) with Applications to Inventory Management.- Active SLAM and Loop Prediction with the Segmented Map Using Simplified Models.- Outdoor Downward-Facing Optical Flow Odometry with Commodity Sensors.- Place Recognition Using Regional Point Descriptors for 3D Mapping.- Mapping.- Scan-Point Planning and 3-D Map Building for a 3-D Laser Range Scanner in an Outdoor Environment.- Image and Sparse Laser Fusion for Dense Scene Reconstruction.- Relative Motion Threshold forRejection in ICP Registration.- Bandit-Based Online Candidate Selection for Adjustable Autonomy.- Applied Imitation Learning for Autonomous Navigation in Complex Natural Terrain.- Underwater Localization and Mapping.- Trajectory Design for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Based on Ocean Model Predictions for Feature Tracking.- AUV Benthic Habitat Mapping in South Eastern Tasmania.- Sensor Network Based AUV Localisation.- Experiments in Visual Localisation around Underwater Structures.- Multi-Robot Cooperation.- Leap-Frog Path Design for Multi-Robot Cooperative Localization.- A Location-Based Algorithm for Multi-Hopping State Estimates within a Distributed Robot Team.- Cooperative AUV Navigation Using a Single Surface Craft.- Multi-Robot Fire Searching in Unknown Environment.- Human Robot Interaction.- Using Virtual Articulations to Operate High-DoF Inspection and Manipulation Motions.- Field Experiment on Multiple Mobile Robots Conducted in an Underground Mall.- Learning to Identify Users and Predict Their Destination in a Robotic Guidance Application.- Long Term Learning and Online Robot Behavior Adaptation for Individuals with Physical and Cognitive Impairments.- Mining Robotics.- Swing Trajectory Control for Large Excavators.- The Development of a Telerobotic Rock Breaker.- Camera and LIDAR Fusion for Mapping of Actively Illuminated Subterranean Voids.- Maritime Robotics.- A Communication Framework for Cost-Effective Operation of AUVs in Coastal Regions.- Multi-Robot Collaboration with Range-Limited Communication: Experiments with Two Underactuated ASVs.- A Simple Reactive Obstacle Avoidance Algorithm and Its Application in Singapore Harbor.- Planetary Robotics.- Model Predictive Control for Mobile Robots with Actively Reconfigurable Chassis.- Turning Efficiency Prediction for Skid Steer Robots Using Single Wheel Testing.- Field Experiments in Mobility and Navigation with a Lunar Rover Prototype.- Rover-Based Surface and Subsurface Modeling for Planetary Exploration.

Post-conference proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Field and Service Robotics held in Cambridge, USA at July 2007 State-of-the-Art Book Written by leading experts in this field