As robots are becoming more and more sophisticated the interest in robot
dynamics is increasing. Within this field, contact problems are among
the most interesting, since contacts are present in almost any robot
task and introduce serious complexity to system dynamics, strongly
influencing robot behavior. The book formulates dynamic models of robot
interaction with different kinds of environment, from pure geometrical
constraints to complex dynamic environments. It provides a number of
examples. Dynamic modeling is the primary interest of the book but
control issues are treated as well. Because dynamics and contact control
tasks are strongly related the authors also provide a brief description
of relevant control issues.
The book will be of interest to engineers working in research and
development in robotics and automation and to both graduate and
postgraduate students. The work will also be valuable to readers
involved in manufacturing, robotics, automation, computer and control
engineering.