Software For Engineering Problems edited by R.A. Adey, CML Publications, Southampton, U.K., 1983, 150 pp. (£15.00)

is work at the Milan Polytechnic in Italy on the use of structured light for object recognition. It is the computational simplicity of this type of technique which augurs well for the future. A major section of the book is devoted to developments in weld-guiding systems and notable here is a report on the work done at Oxford University on visual feedback for arc-welding of thin sheet steel. Useful results have been obtained in this area with both T-joins, and lap-joins to within 0.3 millimetres have been reported with some confidence. A further section of the book is devoted to developments in assembly and part presentation. Amongst these papers there is a report on the classical work on bin picking at the University of Rhode Island in the USA and a description of the flexible assembly work carried out at the Production Engineering Research Association in the UK. The latter is a good example of the way in which vision may be used away from robot manipulator arms, in the context of older tools of the trade; bowl feeders. A section on application describes varied work ranging from vision systems for the sorting of castings at General Motors in Canada to the automatic decoration of chocolates by means of a robot at Patscentre International in the UK. The book ends with a useful group of papers on commercially available vision systems from the major manufacturers in the USA and Germany. The only criticism one might make of the book is that some the papers report on work which has been done several years ago. It would be a pity if the reader were left with the impression that progress has not taken place since that time. On the whole, however, the book is recommended to anyone who wishes to take robot vision seriously.