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Proceedings of Robotics 2000: Fourth International Conference and Exposition/Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Situations and Environments, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 27-March 2, 2000.

This collection contains 47 papers representing the latest advances from the alliance of researchers working on robotic technologies, and those seeking to apply these state-of-the-art technologies in a variety of challenging environments. These papers cover not only space applications but also applications in terrestrial inspection and maintenance, construction, the nuclear industry, environmental remediation, medicine, and manufacturing.

Topics include:

• space operations, exploration, and construction;
• robotic excavation and construction;
• underwater, under-ice, and underground operations;
• operator control interfaces;
• human-robotic systems interaction, space medicine, and life support;
• path planning, navigation and control algorithms;
• robotic systems for planetary exploration.