Lavishly Illustrated, Comprehensive, Detailed, and Reader-Friendly--This is the Ultimate Robot Book! From newly discovered designs of Leonardo da Vinci to the pioneering nineteenth-century work of Nikola Tesla, and on to burgeoning anthropomorphic robots, "anthrobots," that are dextrous, communicative, and autonomous, Robot Evolution covers the length and ever-widening breadth of this new robotics field. Acknowledged robotics expert Mark Rosheim offers at once a fascinating look at more than 2,000 years of robot history, as well as a technical guide to their development, design, and component parts. This book explores the evolution and increasing complexity of robot designs and points out the advantages and disadvantages of various design approaches for robot arms, hands, wrists, and legs. By analyzing the kinematics of robot components in comparison to human limbs, Robot Evolution also introduces a powerful new design tool to measure and evaluate past, present, and new designs. This book features:
* Robot survey from ancient Greece to the nineteenth century
* Analysis of modern robots from 1950 to the present
* Comparative anatomy of human and robot joints
* Chapter-by-chapter analysis of robot arms, wrists, hands, and legs
* Evolution of sensors and artificial intelligence
* Development of mechanical men from man-amplifiers to amazing anthropomorphic robots--anthrobots!