21st Century Kinematics

Abstract

It is a regular practice to organize a session to discuss research directions in the the- ory and practice, and such a panel was organized at the 2010 ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Conference of the International Design Engineering Technical Con- ferences. Unlike the usual format which has senior researchers advise their younger colleagues of recent successes and current challenges, the session in 2010 included our younger colleagues who took the opportunity to make their views known. What our young colleagues had to say opened the eyes of many of us and moti- vated the organization of an National Science Foundation Workshop on 21st Cen- tury Kinematics held in conjunction with the 2012 Mechanisms and Robotics Con- ference. Our younger colleagues conveyed their excitement regarding many new and different opportunities for research built on theoretical and applied kinemat- ics. However they expressed a clear frustration that the foundational material that was readily available to an earlier generation has not been taught for decades, and therefore seems lost to our younger colleagues and their students. It took two years to organize, but the 2012 NSF Workshop is our response to this concern. However, rather than revive the lessons and notes from the past, we have sought to place that theory in a context that serves research goals in this new century. 1.2