Throughout the 1980s, the mobile robotics community was hampered by a lack of supporting sensor technology for environmental perception and navigation, and so despite the many rosy forecasts (largely influenced by the microcomputer boom), any significant

supporting sensor technology for environmental perception and navigation, and so despite the many rosy forecasts (largely influenced by the microcomputer boom), any significant forward progress was extremely slow. Introduced in 1982, the Polaroid electrostatic sonar set off a flurry of excitement as probably the single most influential sensor breakthrough in terms of its catalytic influence on the research community, but by itself it simply wasn’t enough. The advent of the much-hyped autonomous mobile robot performing useful functions around the home, office, or factory floor just didn’t materialize.