Containing 88 papers, the emphasis of this volume is on the control of advanced robots. These robots may be self-contained or part of a system. The applications of such robots vary from manufacturing, assembly and material handling to space work and rescue operations. Topics presented at the Symposium included sensors and robot vision systems as well as the planning and control of robot actions. Main topics covered include the design of control systems and their implementation; advanced sensors and multisensor systems; explicit robot programming; implicit (task-orientated) robot programming; interaction between programming and control systems; simulation as a programming aid; AI techniques for advanced robot systems and autonomous robots.

Provides a detailed analysis of the recent developments and practical applications of automatic control. Of particular interest are control problems related to power systems, water supply systems, pollution, industrial processes, energy economics and production management systems. Contains over 80 papers.

Computer scientists have long appreciated that the relationship between algorithms and architecture is crucial. Broadly speaking the more specialized the architecture is to a particular algorithm then the more efficient will be the computation. The penalty is that the architecture will become useless for computing anything other than that algorithm. This message holds for the algorithms used in real-time automatic control as much as any other field. These Proceedings will provide researchers in this field with a useful up-to-date reference source of recent developments.

This volume contains 40 papers which describe the recent developments in advanced control of chemical processes and related industries. The topics of adaptive control, model-based control and neural networks are covered by 3 survey papers. New adaptive, statistical, model-based control and artificial intelligence techniques and their applications are detailed in several papers. The problem of implementation of control algorithms on a digital computer is also considered.

This volume represents most aspects of the rich and growing field of nonlinear control. These proceedings contain 78 papers, including six plenary lectures, striking a balance between theory and applications. Subjects covered include feedback stabilization, nonlinear and adaptive control of electromechanical systems, nonholonomic systems. Generalized state space systems, algebraic computing in nonlinear systems theory, decoupling, linearization and model-matching and robust control are also covered.

This volume is the published Proceedings of selected papers from the IFAC Symposium, Swansea, 11-13 July 1988, where a forum was provided for discussion of the latest advances and techniques in the education of control and instrument engineers. Seven major topics were covered to aid lecturers in understanding, developing and presenting systems engineering - control and measurement - as a subject to undergraduate and postgraduate students. The teaching of real-time computer control as a topic and laboratory experiments for both continuous and discrete systems were discussed, as was process control, with the emphasis on providing the student with engineering experience by using scaled-down equipment which would teach practical skills. Included in the Proceedings are papers on measurement and instrumentation, an area felt to be neglected within academic instruction. The development of software tools for systems design within systems engineering was included, as was the exchange of teaching packages and methods between academics, and the education curriculum of systems engineering within developing countries. These Proceedings will prove to be a useful up-to-date guide and reference source for all lecturers and professors involved in curriculum development and the teaching of control and measurement in systems engineering.

This volume contains 73 papers, presenting the state of the art in computer-aided design in control systems (CADCS). The latest information and exchange of ideas presented at the Symposium illustrates the development of computer-aided design science and technology within control systems. The Proceedings contain six plenary papers and six special invited papers, and the remainder are divided into five themes: CADCS packages; CADCS software and hardware; systems design methods; CADCS expert systems; CADCS applications, with finally a discussion on CADCS in education and research.

Presents the latest results of both academic and industrial research in the control, modelling and dynamics of two of the most fundamental constituents of all chemical engineering plant. Includes contributions on fixed-bed, gas-phase and tubular reactors, thermal cracking furnaces and distillation columns, related to applications in all major areas of chemical engineering, including petrochemicals and bulk chemical manufacture. Contains 51 papers.

This volume investigates simulation and computer-aided control system designs. The book covers the use of models and program packages, their theoretical aspects and practical applications, and uses illustrative case studies to give a comprehensive view of this fast developing science.