Evolutionary robotics is a new technqiue for the automatic creation of autonomous robots. Inspired by the Darwinian principle of selective reproduction of the fittest, it views robots as autonomous artificial organisms that develop their own skills in close interaction with the environment and without human intervention. Drawing heavily on biology and ethology, it uses the tools of neural networks, genetic algorithms, dynamic systems and biomorphic engineering. The resulting robots share with simple biological systems the characteristics of robustness, simplicity, small size, flexibility and modularity.

A comprehensive survey of the growing field of self-reconfigurable robots that discusses the history of the field, design considerations, and control strategies. Self-reconfigurable robots are constructed of robotic modules that can be connected in many different ways. These modules move in relationship to each other, which allows the robot as a whole to change shape. This shapeshifting makes it possible for the robots to adapt and optimize their shapes for different tasks. Thus, a self-reconfigurable robot can first assume the shape of a rolling track to cover distance quickly, then the shape of a snake to explore a narrow space, and finally the shape of a hexapod to carry an artifact back to the starting point. The field of self-reconfigurable robots has seen significant progress over the last twenty years, and this book collects and synthesizes existing research previously only available in widely scattered individual papers, offering an accessible guide to the latest information on self-reconfigurable robots for researchers and students interested in the field.

The interest in climbing and walking robots (CLAWAR) has intensified in recent years, and novel solutions for complex and very diverse applications have been anticipated by means of significant progress in this area of - botics. Moreover, the amalgamation of original ideas and related inno- tions, search for new potential applications and the use of state of the art support technologies permit to foresee an important step forward and a significant socio-economic impact of advanced robot technology in the - ture. This is leading to the creation and consolidation of a mobile service robotics sector where most of the robotics activities are foreseen in the - ture. The technology is now maturing to become of real benefit to society and methods of realizing this potential quickly are being eagerly explored. Robot standards and modularity are key to this and form key components of the research presented here.

Dealing with amateur robotics building, this book contains the servo motor technology, microcontrolled robots, remote control, Lego Mindstorms Kits, and other commercial kits. It provides coverage of Robotix-based Robots, Lego Technic-based Robots, Functionoids with Lego Mindstorms, and Location and Motorized Systems with Servo Motors.