Background
Bekey, George Albert was born on June 19, 1928 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Arrived in the United States, 1945, naturalized, 1956. Son of Andrew and Elizabeth Bekey.
( Autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of p...)
Autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of performing tasks in the world by themselves, without explicit human control. Examples range from autonomous helicopters to Roomba, the robot vacuum cleaner. In this book, George Bekey offers an introduction to the science and practice of autonomous robots that can be used both in the classroom and as a reference for industry professionals. He surveys the hardware implementations of more than 300 current systems, reviews some of their application areas, and examines the underlying technology, including control, architectures, learning, manipulation, grasping, navigation, and mapping. Living systems can be considered the prototypes of autonomous systems, and Bekey explores the biological inspiration that forms the basis of many recent developments in robotics. He also discusses robot control issues and the design of control architectures. After an overview of the field that introduces some of its fundamental concepts, the book presents background material on hardware, control (from both biological and engineering perspectives), software architecture, and robot intelligence. It then examines a broad range of implementations and applications, including locomotion (wheeled, legged, flying, swimming, and crawling robots), manipulation (both arms and hands), localization, navigation, and mapping. The many case studies and specific applications include robots built for research, industry, and the military, among them underwater robotic vehicles, walking machines with four, six, and eight legs, and the famous humanoid robots Cog, Kismet, ASIMO, and QRIO. The book concludes with reflections on the future of robotics -- the potential benefits as well as the possible dangers that may arise from large numbers of increasingly intelligent and autonomous robots.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262025787/?tag=2022091-20
educator engineer computer scientist
Bekey, George Albert was born on June 19, 1928 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Arrived in the United States, 1945, naturalized, 1956. Son of Andrew and Elizabeth Bekey.
Bachelor of Science with honors, University of California, Berkeley, 1950; Master of Science, University of California at Los Angeles, 1952; Doctor of Philosophy, University of California at Los Angeles, 1962.
Research engineer, University of California at Los Angeles, 1950-1954; manager computer center, Beckman Instruments, Los Angeles and Berkeley, 1955-1958; member senior staff, director computer center, TRW Systems Group, Redondo Beach, California, 1958-1962; member of faculty, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, since 1962; professor electrical and biomedical engineering and computer science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1968-1982; department chairman electrical engineering systems, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1978-1986; director Robotics Laboratory, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, since 1983; chairman computer science Department, University Southern California, Los Angeles, 1984-1989; director Center for Manufacturing and Automation Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1987-1994; associate dean research School Engineering, University Southern California, Los Angeles, since 1996. Chair computer science Gordon Marshall, since 1990. Consultant to government agys. and industrial organizations.
( Autonomous robots are intelligent machines capable of p...)
Fellow: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (3d Millennium medal 2000), American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Association Artificial Intelligence, American Institute Medical and Biological Engineering. Member: National Academy of Engineering, biomedical Engineering Society, Society Computer Simulation, Association Computing Machinery, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Robotics and Automation Society (president 1996-1997, Pioneer in Robotics and Automation award 2002, Distinguished Service award 2004, National Robotics award 2006), Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu.
Married Shirley White, June 10, 1951. Children: Ronald Steven, Michelle Elaine.