Synthesizes knowledge from the disciplines of electronics, computing, physics and mechanics. Combines solutions to many lower level control problems and higher planning problems. Presents novel automatic motion planning systems and new path planning and advanced automatic programming methods, considering both kinematic and dynamic constraints. Discusses geometric modeling, vision systems, image processing, motion planning, dynamics, programming and automation in a simple manner. Addresses problems in robotics that require knowledge and methods from several disciplines to understand and integrate the mechanisms, the electronics, and the algorithms of embedded computer systems, particularly the linking of sensory systems to manipulators. The topics include sensor fusion and force sensing, image data processing and a vision system, and path planning. Double spaced. No information is provided about the series that apparently begins here. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)