This book contains the proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR) to discuss recent trends and important future directions of research on the algorithmic and computational foundations of robotics.

Selected contributions to the Workshop WAFR 2002, held December 15-17, 2002, Nice, France. This fifth biannual Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics focuses on algorithmic issues related to robotics and automation. The design and analysis of robot algorithms raises fundamental questions in computer science, computational geometry, mechanical modeling, operations research, control theory, and associated fields. The highly selective program highlights significant new results such as algorithmic models and complexity bounds. The validation of algorithms, design concepts, or techniques is the common thread running through this focused collection.

Algorithms that control the computational processes relating sensors and actuators are indispensable for robot navigation and the perception of the world in which they move. Therefore, a deep understanding of how algorithms work to achieve this control is essential for the development of efficient and usable robots in a broad field of applications.

Robot algorithms are abstractions of computational processes that control or reason about motion and perception in the physical world. Because actions in the physical world are subject to physical laws and geometric constraints, the design and analysis of robot algorithms raise a unique combination of questions in control theory, computational and differential geometry, and computer science. Algorithms serve as a unifying theme in the multi-disciplinary field of robotics. This volume consists of selected contributions to the sixth Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics. This is a highly competitive meeting of experts in the field of algorithmic issues related to robotics and automation.

Algorithms are a fundamental component of robotic systems. Robot algorithms process inputs from sensors that provide noisy and partial data, build geometric and physical models of the world, plan high-and low-level actions at different time horizons, and execute these actions on actuators with limited precision. The design and analysis of robot algorithms raise a unique combination of questions from many elds, including control theory, computational geometry and topology, geometrical and physical modeling, reasoning under uncertainty, probabilistic algorithms, game theory, and theoretical computer science. The Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR) is a single-track meeting of leading researchers in the eld of robot algorithms. Since its inception in 1994, WAFR has been held every other year, and has provided one of the premiere venues for the publication of some of the eld's most important and lasting contributions. This books contains the proceedings of the tenth WAFR, held on June 13{15 2012 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The 37 papers included in this book cover a broad range of topics, from fundamental theoretical issues in robot motion planning, control, and perception, to novel applications.

This proceedings book helps bring insights from this array of technical sub-topics together, as advanced robot algorithms draw on the combined expertise of many fields—including control theory, computational geometry and topology, geometrical and physical modeling, reasoning under uncertainty, probabilistic algorithms, game theory, and theoretical computer science. Intelligent robots and autonomous systems depend on algorithms that efficiently realize functionalities ranging from perception to decision making, from motion planning to control. The works collected in this SPAR book represent the state of the art in algorithmic robotics. They originate from papers accepted to the 14th International Workshop on the Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics (WAFR), traditionally a biannual, single-track meeting of leading researchers in the field of robotics. WAFR has always served as a premiere venue for the publication of some of robotics’ most important, fundamental, and lasting algorithmic contributions, ensuring the rapid circulation of new ideas. Though an in-person meeting was planned for June 15–17, 2020, in Oulu, Finland, the event ended up being canceled owing to the infeasibility of international travel during the global COVID-19 crisis.

The education system is constantly growing and developing as more ways to teach and learn are implemented into the classroom. Recently, there has been a growing interest in teaching computational thinking with schools all over the world introducing it to the curriculum due to its ability to allow students to become proficient at problem solving using logic, an essential life skill. In order to provide the best education possible, it is imperative that computational thinking strategies, along with programming skills and the use of robotics in the classroom, be implemented in order for students to achieve maximum thought processing skills and computer competencies. The Research Anthology on Computational Thinking, Programming, and Robotics in the Classroom is an all-encompassing reference book that discusses how computational thinking, programming, and robotics can be used in education as well as the benefits and difficulties of implementing these elements into the classroom. The book includes strategies for preparing educators to teach computational thinking in the classroom as well as design techniques for incorporating these practices into various levels of school curriculum and within a variety of subjects. Covering topics ranging from decomposition to robot learning, this book is ideal for educators, computer scientists, administrators, academicians, students, and anyone interested in learning more about how computational thinking, programming, and robotics can change the current education system.

Selected contributions to the Workshop WAFR 2002, held December 15-17, 2002, Nice, France. This fifth biannual Workshop on Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics focuses on algorithmic issues related to robotics and automation. The design and analysis of robot algorithms raises fundamental questions in computer science, computational geometry, mechanical modeling, operations research, control theory, and associated fields. The highly selective program highlights significant new results such as algorithmic models and complexity bounds. The validation of algorithms, design concepts, or techniques is the common thread running through this focused collection.

This book contains selected contributions to WAFR, the highly-competitive meeting on the algorithmic foundations of robotics. They address the unique combination of questions that the design and analysis of robot algorithms inspires.