Page 22 - Sensing, Intelligence, Motion : How Robots and Humans Move in an Unstructured World

PREFACE xxi

the Introduction, introductory sections to other chapters, discussions, examples,
and simplified explanations of the underlying ideas throughout the text.
Designing a whole-sensitive robot is almost like designing a friend. One day
you move your hand in a stroking movement along the robot’s skin, and it
responds with a gentle appreciative movement. This gives you a strange feeling:
We humans are totally unprepared to see a machine exhibit a behavior that we
fully expect from a cat or a dog. I hope that both professional and layman readers
will share this gratifying feeling. And, of course, I hope the book will further our
attempts toward populating our environment with helpful and loyal robot friends.

Vladimir J. Lumelsky

Madison, Wisconsin
Washington D.C.
April 2005