Experimental Robotics

The International Symposium on Experimental Robotics (ISER) is a series of bi-annual meetings which are organized in a rotating fashion around North America, Europe and Asia/Oceania. The goal of ISER is to provide a forum for research in robotics that focuses on novelty of theoretical contributions validated by experimental results. The meetings are conceived to bring together, in a small group setting, researchers from around the world who are in the forefront of experimental robotics research. §This unique reference presents the latest advances across the various fields of robotics, with ideas that are not only conceived conceptually but also explored experimentally. It collects contributions on the current developments and new directions in the field of experimental robotics, which are based on the papers presented at the 11th ISER held in Athens, Greece, July 2008.The International Symposium on Experimental Robotics (ISER) is a series of biennial symposia which began in 1989, and is sponsored by the International Foundation of Robotics Research (IFRR). The goal of ISER is to provide the robotics community with a forum for research driven by creative ideas, bold visions, new systems, and novel applications of robotics, emphasizing experimental work. The tradition in ISER is to foster scholarly work that either addresses validation of theoretical paradigms through careful experimentation or contributes to the creation of novel experimental platforms that in turn inspire new theoretical developments. The ISER symposia are conceived to bring together in a small group setting researchers from around the world who are at the forefront of experimental robotics research, to assess and share their views and ideas about the state of the art and to discuss promising new avenues for future research exploration in experimental robotics. The ISER meetings are organized around oral technical presentations in a single-track format.§This volume includes the complete collection of the contributions presented at the symposium, with authoritative introductions to each section by the chairs of the corresponding sessions.