The development of robotics depends not only on the advancement of robotic technology and the building of novel robotic systems but also on improved understanding and design of robot algorithms. Like computer algorithms, robot algorithms are abstract descriptions of processes in the physical world whose development and analysis are, to some extent, independent of a particular implementation technology. But robot algorithms also differ in significant ways from computer algorithms. While the latter have full control over the data to which they apply, robot algorithms deal with physical objects that they attempt to control despite the fact that these objects are subject to the independent and imperfectly modeled laws of nature. This leads robot algorithms to blend in a unique way basic control issues (controllability and observability) and computational issues (calculability and complexity). They pose in turn fundamental questions that require a new set of analytical concepts and tools for the evaluation of their performance (Latombe, 1994).
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