ics as robot operation and repeatability, and measurement of precision protocol are delved into. In Chap. 3, the basic princi- ples of dynamics involved in robotics are discussed; equations of motion, concepts re- lating to deformation, controllability, observ- ability, and the effect of flexion on robot performance are investigated. In Chap. 4, the geometrical models and constraints that are indispensable to a CAD system have been considered to enable the study, design, simu- lation, programming of robots, and complex automated production workstations; such topics as the place of geometrical modeling in the production process, the geometrical elements, constraints, mechanisms, and operations are discussed. Chapter 5 describes the modeling of the main properties of manipulators: volumes of action, forces and moments, acceleration, deterministic and random errors. Such models may be used for evaluating the static performances of the ro- bot in the design process, determining the characteristics of its motors, etc., running a given robot effectively or comparing the advantages of several systems. In Chap. 6, various methods for the generation of con- tinuous path or point-to-point motions and controls are explained. The execution of a task by a robot generally requires movements of its end effects. The set of situations corre- sponding to these moves defies the geo- metrical trajectories of the operations space and the trajectories in the joint variables space. A distinction is usually made between point-to-point trajectories and continuous path trajectories, depending on the number of geometrical constraints applied to the tra- jectory. In general, applications that require continuous motion impose the required posi- tions of the tool on the trajectory as a func- tion of time. Point-to-point type applications

impose less constraints. The last chapter, Chap. 7, describes modeling of the dynamic system with respect to CAD and the adapt- able control of robot manipulators. Most in- dustrial robots currently in use are equipped with an automatic control system, which servo-controls each articulation individually for position and velocity. In theory, if the behavior of robots controlled in this way is analyzed accurately, relating large variations in performance will be noted, caused by non- linearity, coupling, and variation in loads, particularly when the velocities and accelera- tions are significant. It is easy to see that the use of a mathematical model of a complex articulated system in the automatic control system should lead to better performance in terms of speed and accuracy. With this in mind, a theoretical approach is introduced, which makes decoupling possible and control of joint movements optimal. A compound mode control (using a forward chain and a feedback loop) is also discussed. The perfor- mance of this control is “robust” with respect to modeling errors and numerical calcula- tion time.

K d m Filtering Theory, by A. V. Bala- krishnan: Optimization Software, Inc., New York, $26.00,222 pages, 1984. Reviewed by Shawn Toumodge, Associate Editor. In light of recent developments in high-

speed computers, Kalman filtering has be- come an extremely useful tool in real-time applications. This book is suitable for a graduate course on Kalman filtering theory as well as a good reference for engineers and applied scientists. Some knowledge of state- space methods is assumed, even though the first three chapters are devoted to a brief re- view of these topics as well as to maximum

likelihood, parameter estimation, Bayesian theory, etc. The basic mathematical theory of Kalman filtering is developed in Chap. 4; the filter is structured on the ideas of the inno- vation sequence and the state-innovation sequence. The steady-state filter is then ex- amined from both the time-domain and frequency-domain points of view. Chapter 4 also treats the cases of correlated signal and noise and colored observation noise. The final chapter, Chap. 5 , is concerned with likelihood ratios in which the filter formu- lation plays an important role.

Control, Identrfiathn, and Input Opti- mization, by R. Kalaba and K. Spingam: PlenumPress, New York, $39.50,431 pages, 1982. Reviewed by Shawn Toumodge, Asso- ciate Editor.

The field of optimal inputs has been an area of considerable research recently. Opti- mal inputs have applications in such diverse fields as biomedical modeling and aircraft stability and control parameter estimation. The purpose of this text is to provide upper- division undergraduate and graduate s t u - dents, as well as engineers and scientists, with the analytical and computational tools required to compute optimal inputs for sys- tem identifications. The accuracy of the pa- rameter estimates is enhanced by the use of the optimal inputs to increase the sensitivity of the observations to the parameters being estimated. The determination of optimal in- puts for system identification requires a knowledge of dynamic system optimization techniques, numerical methods of solutions, and methods of system identification. AU of these topics are covered in this textbook. Computer program listings for the solution of boundary-value and identification problems are also provided.

Why Your Favorite Book Has Not Yet Been Reviewed Stanley B. Winters

Until I became the book review editor for a scholarly journal, I was innocent of the headaches involved. Tardiness, poor writing, and bad manners were the main problems presented by the scholars and professors who wrote our book reviews and contributed to them their knowledge and expertise. These tart observations flow from my experience at editing hundreds of such reviews in the past decade.

Having been an author of scholarly re- views myself, I initially saw reviewing only from the author’s side of the fence. After becoming an editor, I found that inviting someone to review a book was the easiest part of the job- and merely the first step on February 1986

a long journey. About 95 percent of those invited accepted the assignment, although East Central Europe, like most scholarly journals, pays no honorarium. Those who accepted probably were drawn by the lure of a free book and the chance to stay profession- ally current.

I soon discovered that the normal three- month deadline for a 400- to 500-word re- view meant nothing. Most reviewers took six to eight months, sometimes a year. Canadian and European reviewers were generally more punctual than Americans, with the exception of a few Austrians and Germans to whom time seemed meaningless. The record for tardiness -five years late- was set by a young American professor at a Midwestern

university who agreed to review the first vol- ume of a multivolume work, but became so enamored of the project that he tarried to buy the entire set and then submitted a lengthy appraisal. It was a f i e job, but I gladly would have settled for prompt, short notice and foregone our lengthy correspondence.

My major headaches came from errant scholars more than a year overdue. To spur them on, I developed a five-step method, the initial two of which were taken within a few months after the deadline had passed. These consisted of cordial letters of reminder that asked for a clue as to when I might expect the review or, better‘ yet, the review itself. If these did not suffice, I would take step three by asking for the return of the book, but

51

voicing hope that the review would be sent instead. By this point, most malingerers were shamed into producing the review.

A hard core of holdouts-several dozen over the decade-proved impervious to these measures and failed to respond alto- gether. I marveled at their obduracy, uncon- cern for their reputations, and discourtesy. Having worked myself into a rage, I would advance to step four: a letter to the chair- person of the reviewer’s department (or the dean if the reviewer was a chairperson) in- quiring whether the individual was still on the faculty, noting the long-departed deadline and asking that the reviewer be reminded of his obligation. This step, in about half the hard-core cases, led either to a letter of apology from the reviewer or an acknowl- edgment from the chairperson. The review itself would soon follow, or an explanation that the book was lost and could I please send another (which I never did).

These steps failing, I advanced on the re- maining holdouts with step five: a certified letter to the university president asking for his help. Presto! Long-sought reviews fell from my mailbox like manna from heaven. Of course, by taking step five, I foreclosed future editorial (and friendly) relationships with the reviewers, but I felt by then that they were not worth it anyway. Step five was desperation, the editorial equivalent of war. My glee at winning the battle was compen- sation for my angst. Since step five failed in

only two instances, I am batting far ahead of Roger Hornsby’s .424 in 1924.

Most reviews I process are much better prepared than the miserable manuscripts pun- gently described by Margaret E. Guthrie [l], though some have memorable qualities: an odor of stale tobacco or pizza, a patchwork of inked corrections and strikeovers, cookie crumbs, even an encurled human hair or two. All this apart from verb-subject-pronoun dis- agreements, lapses in syntax, and inevitable misspellings. I willingly tolerate such faults, however, if they come with a penetrating critique rather than tidy pages of bland sum- mary or insipid judgment.

Few reviewers consider the needs of the publisher. I know that publishers ship review copies to small-circulation journals in hope that a favorable notice will promote sales among a targeted audience. This requires not only a clear statement of the book’s merits, but also a prompt submission. Tardiness un- dermines the reviewer’s credibility with the editor, as well as the journal’s credibility with the publisher.

But enough of reminiscence and recrimi- nation. I must return to my desk to write a review that I had promised to submit to a sister journal over a year ago.

Stanley B. Winters, a member of the hu- manities faculty at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. is Managing Editor for Easr Central Europe, a journal published

in Irvine, CA, and for 10 years was also a book review editor. Reprinted with permission of the author, from Publishers Weekly, April 26, 1985.

Reference [ I ] Guthrie, M. E. , “My Say,” Publishers

We&?, Jan. 15, 1985.

Advertiser Index Comdyna, Inc. .................... 60 Control Dynamics, Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Integrated Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . Cov. 4 Math Works, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Northrop Aircraft Division . . . . . . . . . . 63 Puma Software, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Springer Verlag Publishers . . . . . . . . . . 62 Systems Control Technology (CTRL-C),

Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cov. 3 Systems Control Technology (SCT),

Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Systems Technology, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Systolic Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . Cov. 2 TASC Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Worcester Polytechnic Institute . . . . . . 63

Conferences ACC ‘86 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 International Conference on Robotics

and Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Midwest Symposium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 1986 CACSD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 25th CDC ........................ 55

Cod. Calendar continued from p. 27 Fifth IFAC Symposium on Automation

in Mining, Mineral, and Metal Process- ing, Aug. 24-29, 1986, Tokyo Japan. Con- tact: Mr. Y. Saito, The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, 35-28-303, Hongo 1-chome Bunikyo-ku, Tokyo 133, Japan.

4th IFAC/IFORS Symposium on Large- Scale Systems: Theory and Applications, Aug. 26-29, 1986, Ziirich, Switzerland. Contact: Prof. M. Mansour, IFAC/IFORS Symposium, ETH-Zentrum, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland, phone: (01) 256-5335 or (01) 256-2828.

2nd WAC Workshop on Modeling and Control of Electric Power Plants, Sept. 16-18, 1986, Drexel University, Philadel- phia, Pennsylvania, USA. Contact: Dr. H. G. Kwamy, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Drexel Univer- sity, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

IFAC International Symposium on Simulation of Control Systems, Sept. 22-26,1986, Vienna, Austria. Contact: Prof. I. Troch, YC Technical University Vienna, Karlsplatz 13, A-1040 Wien, Austria.

52

IEEE Control Systems Society Third Symposium on Computer-Aided Control System Design September 24-26, 1986 Quality Inn? Pentagon City Arlington, Virginia Three copies of 700-word abstract due by March 30, 1986. General Chairman David W. Porter Business and Tech. Systems, Inc. Aerospace Building, Suite 440 102 10 Greenbelt Road Seabrook, MD 20706 Phone: (301) 794-8800

6th International IFAC/IFIP/IMEKO :onference on Instrumentation and Auto-

mation in the Paper, Rubber, Plastics, and Polymerization Industries, Oct. 27-29, 1986, Akron, Ohio. Contact: Prof. A. Kaya, The University of Akron, Mechanical Engi- neering Dept., Akron, OH 44325, USA, phone: (216) 375-7735.

International Symposium on Robotics: Modeling, Control and Education, Novem- ber 12-14, 1986, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Contact: Mo Jamshidi, CAD Lab Systems/Robotics, EECE Dept., UNM, Albuquerque, NM 87131, phone: (505) 277-0300.

IFAC/IFIP/IMACS International Symposium on Theory of Robots, Dec. 3-5, 1986,Vienna, Austria. Send five copies of an extended abstract (2 to 3 pages) in English by February 1, 1986, to Dr. P. Ko- pacek, OPWZ, P.O. Box 131, A-1014 Vi- enna, Austria. class and true luxury, an easy walk or short taxi-hop from the center of the city, with a

IEEE Control Systems Society 1986 Conference on Decision and Control Dec. 10-12, 1986 Athens, Greece General Chairman: Prof. Anthony Ephremides Electrical Eng. Dept. University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742, USA

IEEE Control Systems Magazine