Page 300 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Side Lighting
these, control trading is generally superior to shared control. Compare
CONTROL TRADING.
See also TELEOPERATION.
SIDE LIGHTING
In a robotic vision system, the term side lighting refers to illumination of
objects in the work environment using a light source located such that
the scene is lit up from one side, or from the top or the bottom. The light
from the source scatters from the surfaces of the objects under observation
before reaching the sensors. In addition, the robot sees significant
shadow effect in its work environment.
Side lighting is used in situations where the surface details of observed
objects are of interest or significance. This scheme lends a sense of depth
to a scene because of the shadows cast by objects. Irregularities in a surface
show up especially well when the illumination strikes the surface at a sharp
angle. (A good example is the illumination of the craters in the twilight
zone on the Moon, as seen through a telescope, when the Moon is in its
first-quarter or last-quarter phase.) Side lighting does not work well in
situations involving translucent or semitransparent objects, if their internal
structure must be analyzed. Back lighting works best in these cases. Com-
pare BACK LIGHTING and FRONT LIGHTING.
SIGNAL GENERATOR
See GENERATOR.
SIMPLE-MOTION PROGRAMMING
As machines become smarter, the programming gets more sophisticated.
No machine has yet been built that has intelligence anywhere near that of
a human being. Some researchers think that true artificial intelligence
(AI), at a level near that of the human brain, will never be achieved.
The programming of robots can be divided into levels, starting with the
least sophisticated and progressing to the theoretical level of true AI. The
drawing shows a four-level scheme. Level 1, the lowest level, is simple-
motion programming. Robots at this level are designed to perform basic,
often repetitive actions, such as actuating a motor or lifting an object. Com-
pare ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, COMPLEX-MOTION PROGRAMMING, and TASK-LEVEL PROGRAMMING.

SIMULATION
Simulation is the use of computers to mimic real-life situations. Some
simulators involve teaching of skills for the operation of machinery.
Other simulators are programs that predict (or try to predict) events in
the real world.

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