Layout of the Section

Layout of the Section

This section is divided into eight chapters, one to define robotics and the
other seven to intertwine both the theory and practice associated with each
paradigm. Ch. 2 describes the Hierarchical Paradigm and two representative
architectures. Ch. 3 sets the stage for understanding the Reactive Paradigm
by reviewing the key concepts from biology and ethology that served to motivate
the shift from Hierarchical to Reactive systems. Ch. 4 describes the
Reactive Paradigm and the architectures that originally popularized this approach.
It also offers definitions of primitive robot behaviors. Ch. 5 provides
guidelines and case studies on designing robot behaviors. It also introduces
issues in coordinating and controlling multiple behaviors and the common
techniques for resolving these issues. At this point, the reader should be
almost able to design and implement a reactive robot system, either in simulation
or on a real robot. However, the success of a reactive system depends
on the sensing. Ch. 6 discusses simple sonar and computer vision processing
techniques that are commonly used in inexpensive robots. Ch. 7 describes
the Hybrid Deliberative-Reactive Paradigm, concentrating on architectural
trends. Up until this point, the emphasis is towards programming a single
robot. Ch. 8 concludes the section by discussing how the principles of the
three paradigms have been transferred to teams of robots.