IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2013 - 96

An Introduction to Cybernetics
W. Ross Ashby, John Wiley & Sons,
London, UK, 1963, 295 pages.
shby was a founder of cybernetics
and formulated certain concepts
of systems that are well
regarded today. This book is
intended to introduce the basics of
cybernetics as a way to characterize
machines not only by what they are, i.e.,
their nuts and bolts, but by what they
might do, considered as a set of possibilities. The author
uses simple
algebra and
Combinations can
short, carefully
be ordered and
defined sentences to point
related, giving useful
out observable
insights for regulating
objects and
events. He also
the real system in
expresses his
coordination with
concepts with
clear block diathe model.
grams and flow
charts. This
book contains 14 chapters divided into
three parts.
1) "Mechanisms"-includes chapters on
change, indeterminate machines,
machines with input, stability, and
the black box.
2) "Variety"-includes chapters on
quantity of variety, transmission of
variety, and incessant transmission.
3) "Regulation and Control"-includes
chapters on regulation in biological

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2013.2247707
Date of publication: 8 March 2013

The Robot Builder's Bonanza,
4th Edition
Gordon McComb, McGraw-Hill/
TAB Electronics, New York, NY,
2011, 736 pages.
he Robot Builder's Bonanza
was first published in 1987
and has continued to be a
popular handbook through

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2013.2247708
Date of publication: 8 March 2013

IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

systems, requisite variety, error-controlled regulators, very large systems,
and, finally, amplification of power,
which also applies to intelligence.
Ashby believes that by correctly using
the principle of selection, even
human intelligence can be increased.
The primary question to a cyberneticist is how a machine is functioning.
Consider it as a black box. You can learn
about the black box by studying what it
does. Act on it with input, and observe
the output. Then the process can
be improved.
You can apply cybernetic principles
by correctly considering a system that
consists of interacting coordinated parts.
The state of equilibrium of the whole
relies on acceptance of equilibrium by
each part. Thus, the tendency of a wellregulated machine is to return to stability as a whole.
Ashby explains that the constraint is
an important feature of coordination in
machines as a part of control and regulation. However, a system may be too constrained so that adaptation is not possible.
Requisite variation must be given to the
machine when learning actions.
For example, imagine that a robot
learned to walk a path, balancing on
a flat surface. A great deal of constraint of motion could be given to it.
Then, imagine the robot is given an
uphill, winding path to walk.
Adaptation would be necessary to
walk successfully. Constraints would
have to be relaxed. The behavior of
walking would need to have some
variation, but not so much variation

that the robot falls over like a drunk.
Feedback from a regulator makes it
possible for the robot to adapt to
changes in environmental conditions.
Ashby also explains how error can be
used for regulation.
For better understanding, Ashby
points the reader to more complex
models. A model is useful to the
extent that it is a representative, as a
totality. But a model can be thought
of as a set of possible models: a number of simplifications, in a lattice.
Closely detailed approximations are
at the top, and distant, simpler
approximations are at the bottom.
Combinations can be ordered and
related, giving useful insights for regulating the real system in coordination with the model. From correct
regulation, a stable system evolves
that can accomplish the intended
purpose.
Ashby's principles are important
and useful for robotic systems. If only
one of the members of the total set of
concepts is implemented in a
machine, each implementation is
linked, as a member, to the total set of
cybernetic principles. The machine as
a unit will benefit from the relationship. Coordination, regulation, and
control of robotic devices can be
greatly improved by adapting and
applying these principles.

each of its four iterations. It is written
with a sense of humor and includes
fascinating tidbits. For example, did
you know that the word robot derived
from a Czech novelist/playwright
named Karel Capek who coined the
word robata in a 1917 short story?
The word robota in the Czech language means compulsory worker, and
what distinguishes a robot from other
machines is that it can perform some
kind of function or work. McComb

defines a robot as any device that
mimics human or animal function. It
can be autonomous, preprogrammed,
or radio controlled.
Eight carefully laid out sections provide a systematic guide to building a
stable robot that can navigate, respond,
and perform functions. One of the
premises of the book is modularity, and
the author encourages creative intermixing of different modules developed
in the chapters.

March 2013

-Reviewed by
C. Alexander Simpkins Sr., Ph.D.,
and Annellen M. Simpkins, Ph.D.,
San Diego, California

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2013