Education

  • Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1974
  • S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1971
  • B.S., University of Texas at Austin, 1969

Background

Dr. Book began at Tech in 1974 as an Assistant Professor. He has maintained a longstanding interest in robotics, automatic controls, and in the special topic of his Ph.D. thesis, the control of flexible motion systems. He was instrumental in the formation of the Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems (CIMS) Program at Georgia Tech, serving as its founding director from 1983 to 1988. In 2001 he was appointed to the HUSCO/Ramirez Distinguished Chair in Fluid Power and Motion Control. Shortly thereafter he established the Georgia Tech Fluid Power and Motion Control Center. He retired from Georgia Tech in June of 2011 and was granted emeritus status and continues to be active in that capacity.

Research

Dr. Wayne Book with student demonstrating research.

The research Dr. Book has engaged in clusters around topics well suited to the laboratory he has named the Intelligent Machine Dynamics Laboratory. His longstanding interest in improving the capabilities of flexible robot arms is an example. This work began with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's support of his doctoral dissertation, and has been supported over the years with funds from NASA, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, Cincinnati Milacron, NEC Corporation, IBM, and Ford Visteon. Many aspects and approaches to expanding the envelope of the design space to lighter, faster, more precise motion systems have been explored in conjunction with numerous graduate students and visiting scholars. Other aspects of the dynamics of intelligent machines explored have included how they can better be actuated hydraulically and electrically, how their position can better be sensed, how they can be used, and how they can be modeled.

With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Book leads a group of faculty to create a computer input and display for haptic shapes called Digital Clay. (A haptic display presents force in resistance to movement.) In other work, he and his students explore passive actuation of machines intended to guide the motion of human users in possible applications, such as heavy equipment operation, virtual reality, exercise machines, and computer assisted surgery. He is the Georgia Tech P.I. for the NSF Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. The application of control to intelligent machines is especially exciting to Dr. Book in this era of ever improving computer capabilities. He says, "The things we dreamed of doing a few years ago with computer control are now practical and even essential to competitive products."

  • Society of Manufacturing Engineers Fellow, 2007
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers
    • Dynamic Systems and Control Division Leadership Award, 2004
    • Dedicated Service Award, 2003
    • Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control  Senior Technical Editor, 1994-1999
    • Fellow, 1993
  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
    • Transactions on Automatic Controls  Associate Editor, 1983-1988
    • Fellow, 1995
  • Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Journal of Systems and Controls Engineering Editorial Board, 2011 to present
  • Mechanics Based Design of Structures and Machines  Associate Editor, 1996-2007
  • International Journal of Fluid Power Associate Editor, 2004-present
  • Georgia Tech Faculty Research Award for Outstanding Leadership in Graduate Research Assistant Development, 1987
  • Registered Professional Engineer in Georgia

Patents

  • Displacement Sensor, U.S. Patent 7,521,921 with Haihong Zhu, April 21, 2009.
  • Digital Clay Apparatus and Method, U.S. Patent 6,836,736 with Mark Allen, Imme Ebert-Uphoff, Ari Glezer, David Rosen and Jaroslaw Rossignac, December 28, 2004
  • Optimal Arbitrary Time-Delay (OAT) Filter and Method to Minimize Unwanted System Dynamics, U. S. Patent 6,078,844, with David P. Magee, June 20, 2000
  • Precision Apparatus with Non-Rigid, Imprecise Structure, and Method for Operating Same, U. S. Patent 5,946,449, with S. Dickerson and N. Sadegh, August 31, 1999
  • Trajectory Guidance Apparatus and Method, U.S. Patent 5,704,253, with Robert Chares, January 6, 1998

Representative Publications

  • Gao, Dalong and W. J. Book. 2009. Steerability in Planar Dissipative Passive Robots. International Journal of Robotics Research, 29(4).
  • S. Rhim and W. J. Book. 2004. Adaptive Time-delay Command Shaping Filter for Flexible Manipulator Control. Transactions on Mechatronics, 9(4), 619-626.
  • S. Munir and W. J. Book. 2003. Control Techniques and Programming Issues for Time Delayed Internet Based Teleoperation. Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 125(2), 205-214.
  • D.-S. Kwon and W. J. Book. 1994. A Time-Domain Inverse Dynamic Tracking Control of a Single-Link Flexible Manipulator. Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control 116, 193-200.
  • W. J. Book. 1993. Controlled Motion in an Elastic World. Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control, 50th Anniversary Issue (March), 252-261.