The chapters in this book present an excellent exposition of recent developments in both robotics and nonlinear control centering around "hyper-redundancy", highly oscillatory inputs, optimal control, exterior differential systems, and the use of generic loops. The principal topics covered in the book are: adaptive control for a class of nonlinear systems, event-based motion planning, nonlinear control synthesis and path planning in robotics with special emphasis on nonholonomic and "hyper-redundant" robotic systems, control design and stabilization of driftless affine control systems (of the type arising in the kinematic control of nonholonomic robotic systems), control design methods for Hamiltonian systems and exterior differential systems. The chapter covering exterior differential systems contains a detailed introduction to the use of exterior differential methods, including the Goursat and extended Goursat normal forms and their application to path planning for nonholonomic systems.

This is a volume of essays and reviews that delightfully explores mathematics in all its moods — from the light and the witty, and humorous to serious, rational, and cerebral. These beautifully written articles from three great modern mathematicians will provide a source for supplemental reading for almost any math class. Topics include: logic, combinatorics, statistics, economics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and broad applications of mathematics. Readers will also find coverage of history and philosophy, including discussion of the work of Ulam, Kant, and Heidegger, among others.

Eleven distinguished historians of science explore natural philosophy and mathematics in the Middle Ages.

Mathematical Recreations and Essays W. W. Rouse Ball For nearly a century, this sparkling classic has provided stimulating hours of entertainment to the mathematically inclined. The problems posed here often involve fundamental mathematical methods and notions, but their chief appeal is their capacity to tease and delight. In these pages you will find scores of "recreations" to amuse you and to challenge your problem-solving faculties-often to the limit. Now in its 13th edition, Mathematical Recreations and Essays has been thoroughly revised and updated over the decades since its first publication in 1892. This latest edition retains all the remarkable character of the original, but the terminology and treatment of some problems have been updated and new material has been added. Among the challenges in store for you: Arithmetical and geometrical recreations; Polyhedra; Chess-board recreations; Magic squares; Map-coloring problems; Unicursal problems; Cryptography and cryptanalysis; Calculating prodigies; ... and more. You'll even find problems which mathematical ingenuity can solve but the computer cannot. No knowledge of calculus or analytic geometry is necessary to enjoy these games and puzzles. With basic mathematical skills and the desire to meet a challenge you can put yourself to the test and win. "A must to add to your mathematics library."-The Mathematics Teacher We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

Steven Finch provides 136 essays, each devoted to a mathematical constant or a class of constants, from the well known to the highly exotic. This book is helpful both to readers seeking information about a specific constant, and to readers who desire a panoramic view of all constants coming from a particular field, for example, combinatorial enumeration or geometric optimization. Unsolved problems appear virtually everywhere as well. This work represents an outstanding scholarly attempt to bring together all significant mathematical constants in one place.

"This collection of 39 short stories gives the reader a unique opportunity to take a look at the scientific philosophy of Vladimir Arnold, one of the most original contemporary researchers. Topics of the stories included range from astronomy, to mirages, to motion of glaciers, to geometry of mirrors and beyond. In each case Arnold's explanation is both deep and simple, which makes the book interesting and accessible to an extremely broad readership. Original illustrations hand drawn by the author help the reader to further understand and appreciate Arnold's view on the relationship between mathematics and science."--

This classic guide contains four essays on writing mathematical books and papers at the research level and at the level of graduate texts. The authors are all well known for their writing skills, as well as their mathematical accomplishments. The first essay, by Steenrod, discusses writing books, either monographs or textbooks. He gives both general and specific advice, getting into such details as the need for a good introduction. The longest essay is by Halmos, and contains many of the pieces of his advice that are repeated even today: In order to say something well you must have something to say; write for someone; think about the alphabet. Halmos's advice is systematic and practical. Schiffer addresses the issue by examining four types of mathematical writing: research paper, monograph, survey, and textbook, and gives advice for each form of exposition. Dieudonne's contribution is mostly a commentary on the earlier essays, with clear statements of where he disagrees with his coauthors. The advice in this small book will be useful to mathematicians at all levels.

Analysis, assessment, and data management are core tools required for operation research analysts. The April 2011 conference held at the Helenic Military Academy addressed these issues with efforts to collect valuable recommendations for improving analysts’ capabilities to assess and communicate the necessary qualitative data to military leaders. This unique volume is an outgrowth of the April conference and comprises of contributions from the fields of science, mathematics, and the military, bringing Greek research findings to the world. Topics cover a wide variety of mathematical methods used with application to defense and security. Each contribution considers directions and pursuits of scientists that pertain to the military as well as the theoretical background required for methods, algorithms, and techniques used in military applications. The direction of theoretical results in these applications is conveyed and open problems and future areas of focus are highlighted. A foreword will be composed by a member of N.A.T.O. or a ranking member of the armed forces. Topics covered include: applied OR and military applications, signal processing, scattering, scientific computing and applications, combat simulation and statistical modeling, satellite remote sensing, and applied informatics – cryptography and coding. The contents of this volume will be of interest to a diverse audience including military operations research analysts, the military community at large, and practitioners working with mathematical methods and applications to informatics and military science.​

Mathematics today is approaching a state of cnSIS. As the demands of science and society for mathematical literacy increase, the percentage of American college students intending to major in mathematics plummets and achievement scores of entering college students continue thelt unremit ting decline. As research in core mathematics reaches unprecedented heights of power and sophistication, the growth of diverse applied special ties threatens to fragment mathematics into distinct and frequently hostile mathematical sciences. These crises in mathematics presage difficulties for science and engineer ing, and alarms are beginning to sound in the scientific and even in the political communities. Citing a trend towards "virtual scientific and techno logical illiteracy" and a "shrinking of our national commitment to excel lence . . . in science, mathematics and technology," a recent study con ducted for the President by the U. S. National Science Foundation and Department of Education warns of serious impending shortcomings in public understanding of science. "Today people in a wide range of non scientific . . . professions must have a greater understanding of technology than at any time in our history. Yet our educational system does not now provide such understanding. " The study goes on to conclude that present trends pose great risk of manpower shortages in the mathematical and engineering sciences. "The pool from which our future scientific and engineering personnel can be drawn is . . . in danger of becoming smaller, even as the need for such personnel is increasing. " It is time to take a serious look at mathematics tomorrow.

See the world in a completely new way as an esteemed mathematician shows how math powers the world—from technology to health care and beyond. Almost all of us have sat in a math class, wondering when we'd ever need to know how to find the roots of a polynomial or graph imaginary numbers. And in one sense, we were right: if we needed to, we'd use a computer. But as Ian Stewart argues in What's the Use?, math isn't just about boring computations. Rather, it offers us new and profound insights into our world, allowing us to accomplish feats as significant as space exploration and organ donation. From the trigonometry that keeps a satellite in orbit to the prime numbers used by the world's most advanced security systems to the imaginary numbers that enable augmented reality, math isn't just relevant to our lives. It is the very fabric of our existence.