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Preface
Special thanks go to the numerous reviewers, especially Karen Sutherland
and Ken Hughes. Karen Sutherland and her robotics class at the University
of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (Kristoff Hans Ausderau, Teddy Bauer, Scott David
Becker, Corrie L. Brague, Shane Brownell, Edwin J. Colby III, Mark Erick-
son, Chris Falch, Jim Fick, Jennifer Fleischman, Scott Galbari, Mike Halda,
Brian Kehoe, Jay D. Paska, Stephen Pauls, Scott Sandau, Amy Stanislowski,
Jaromy Ward, Steve Westcott, Peter White, Louis Woyak, and Julie A. Zan-
der) painstakingly reviewed an early draft of the book and made extensive
suggestions and added review questions. Ken Hughes also deserves special
thanks; he also provided a chapter by chapter critique as well as witty emails.
Ken always comes to my rescue.
Likewise, the book would not be possible without my ongoing involve-
ment in robotics research; my efforts have been supported by NSF, DARPA,
and ONR. Most of the case studies came from work or through equipment
sponsored by NSF. Howard Moraff, Rita Rodriguez, and Harry Hedges were
always very encouraging, beyond the call of duty of even the most dedi-
cated NSF program director. Michael Mason also provided encouragement,
in many forms, to hang in there and focus on education.
My editor, Bob Prior, and the others at the MIT Press (Katherine Innis,
Judy Feldmann, Margie Hardwick, and Maureen Kuper) also have my deep-
est appreciation for providing unfailingly good-humored guidance, techni-
cal assistance, and general savvy. Katherine and especially Judy were very
patient and nice— despite knowing that I was calling with Yet Another Cri-
sis. Mike Hamilton at AAAI was very helpful in making available the vari-
ous “action shots” used throughout the book. Chris Manning provided the
LT X2 " style files, with adaptations by Paul Anagnostopoulos. Liam Irish
A
E
and Ken Hughes contributed helpful scripts.
Besides the usual suspects, there are some very special people who indi-
rectly helped me. Without the encouragement of three liberal arts professors,
Carlyle Ramsey, Monroe Swilley, and Chris Trowell, at South Georgia Col-
lege in my small hometown of Douglas, Georgia, I probably wouldn’t have
seriously considered graduate school in engineering and computer science.
They taught me that learning isn’t a place like a big university but rather a
personal discipline. The efforts of my husband, Kevin Murphy, were, as al-
ways, essential. He worked hard to make sure I could spend the time on this
book without missing time with the kids or going crazy. He also did a se-
rious amount of editing, typing, scanning, and proofreading. I dedicate the
book to these four men who have influenced my professional career as much
as any academic mentor.