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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>STANFORD ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY <COLUMN SEL '2443>APRIL 1975<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '450>
<FONT SELECT '005>An Overview of AL, A Programming System for Automation<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '005><COLUMN SEL '501>
<FONT SELECT '000>Raphael Finkel, Russell Taylor, Robert Bolles, Richard Paul<B L ADJ '012>*<B L ADJ '000>, Jerome Feldman<B L ADJ '012>*<B L ADJ '000><CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '710>AL<COL INC '030>is<COL INC '027>an<COL INC '030>high-level<COL INC '030>programming<COL INC '027>system<COL INC '030>for<COL INC '030>specification<COL INC '027>of<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>manipulatory<COL INC '014>tasks<COL INC '013>such<COL INC '014>as<COL INC '013>assembly<COL INC '014>of<COL INC '013>an<COL INC '014>object<COL INC '013>from<COL INC '014>parts.<COL INC '013> AL<COL INC '014>includes<COL INC '013>an<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>ALGOL-like<COL INC '025>source<COL INC '025>language,<COL INC '025>a<COL INC '025>translator<COL INC '025>for<COL INC '025>converting<COL INC '025>programs<COL INC '025>into<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>runnable<COL INC '016>code,<COL INC '016>and<COL INC '016>a<COL INC '016>runtime<COL INC '015>system<COL INC '016>for<COL INC '016>controlling<COL INC '016>manipulators<COL INC '016>and<COL INC '015>other<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>devices.<COL INC '022> The<COL INC '023>system<COL INC '022>includes<COL INC '022>advanced<COL INC '023>features<COL INC '022>for<COL INC '023>describing<COL INC '022>individual<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>motions<COL INC '020>of<COL INC '020>manipulators,<COL INC '020>for<COL INC '020>using<COL INC '020>sensory<COL INC '020>information,<COL INC '020>and<COL INC '021>for<COL INC '020>describing<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>assembly<COL INC '021>algorithms<COL INC '021>in<COL INC '021>terms<COL INC '021>of<COL INC '021>common<COL INC '021>domain-specific<COL INC '021>primitives.<COL INC '020> This<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>paper<COL INC '015>describes<COL INC '014>the<COL INC '015>design<COL INC '014>of<COL INC '015>AL,<COL INC '015>which<COL INC '014>is<COL INC '015>currently<COL INC '014>being<COL INC '015>implemented<COL INC '015>as<COL INC '014>a<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>successor to the Stanford WAVE system.<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>_________________________________________________________________________________<COLUMN SEL '2676>  <CR><LINESPACE '003>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>
<FONT SELECT '003><B L ADJ '012>*<B L ADJ '000><COL INC '022>Jerome<COL INC '022>Feldman<COL INC '022>is<COL INC '022>now<COL INC '022>at<COL INC '022>the<COL INC '023>University<COL INC '022>of<COL INC '022>Rochester.<COL INC '022> Lou<COL INC '022>Paul<COL INC '022>is<COL INC '022>now<COL INC '023>at<COL INC '022>the<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '003>Stanford Research Institute.<CR><LINESPACE '003>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '003><COLUMN SEL '510>This<COL INC '030>research<COL INC '027>was<COL INC '030>supported<COL INC '027>in<COL INC '030>part<COL INC '027>by<COL INC '030>the<COL INC '027>National<COL INC '030>Science<COL INC '030>Foundation<COL INC '027>under<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '003>contract<COL INC '020>No.<COL INC '021>GI-42906<COL INC '020>and<COL INC '020>in<COL INC '021>part<COL INC '020>by<COL INC '020>the<COL INC '021>Advanced<COL INC '020>Research<COL INC '020>Projects<COL INC '021>Agency<COL INC '020>of<COL INC '020>the<COL INC '021>Office<COL INC '020>of<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '003>Defense<COL INC '020>under<COL INC '020>Contract<COL INC '020>No.<COL INC '020>DAHC-15-73-C-0435.<COL INC '021> The<COL INC '020>views<COL INC '020>and<COL INC '020>conclusions<COL INC '020>in<COL INC '021>this<COL INC '020>document<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '003>are<COL INC '022>those<COL INC '022>of<COL INC '021>the<COL INC '022>authors<COL INC '022>and<COL INC '022>should<COL INC '021>not<COL INC '022>be<COL INC '022>interpreted<COL INC '021>as<COL INC '022>necessarily<COL INC '022>representing<COL INC '022>the<COL INC '021>official<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '003>policies, either expressed or implied, of the funding agencies.<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '1510><COLUMN SEL '2560>Page 1<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>
<FONT SELECT '004>1 AN OVERVIEW OF AL
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>This<COL INC '014>short<COL INC '013>paper<COL INC '014>cannot<COL INC '013>cover<COL INC '014>the<COL INC '014>subject<COL INC '013>of<COL INC '014>AL<COL INC '013>with<COL INC '014>any<COL INC '013>depth;<COL INC '014>a<COL INC '014>complete<COL INC '013>discussion<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>may<COL INC '022>be<COL INC '022>found<COL INC '022>in<COL INC '022>
<FONT SELECT '003>AL,<COL INC '022>A<COL INC '021>Programming<COL INC '022>System<COL INC '022>for<COL INC '022>Automation
<FONT SELECT '000>,<COL INC '022>Stanford<COL INC '022>Artificial<COL INC '021>Intelligence<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>Laboratory<COL INC '015>Memo<COL INC '015>AIM-243,<COL INC '015>Stanford<COL INC '015>University<COL INC '015>Computer<COL INC '015>Science<COL INC '015>Department<COL INC '016>Report<COL INC '015>STAN-<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>CS-74-456, by the authors of this paper.<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>
<FONT SELECT '004>1.1 INTRODUCTION
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>The<COL INC '013>development<COL INC '012>of<COL INC '013>robot<COL INC '012>manipulators<COL INC '013>such<COL INC '012>as<COL INC '013>the<COL INC '012>"Unimate"<COL INC '013>has<COL INC '012>led<COL INC '013>to<COL INC '012>the<COL INC '013>belief<COL INC '012>that<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>these<COL INC '015>tools<COL INC '015>are<COL INC '015>in<COL INC '015>some<COL INC '015>way<COL INC '015>general-purpose<COL INC '015>devices<COL INC '015>and<COL INC '015>that<COL INC '015>they<COL INC '015>might<COL INC '015>be<COL INC '015>programmed<COL INC '015>like<COL INC '014>a<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>computer.<COL INC '013> As<COL INC '012>a<COL INC '013>general-purpose<COL INC '012>programmable<COL INC '013>device,<COL INC '012>the<COL INC '013>robot<COL INC '012>manipulator<COL INC '013>provides<COL INC '013>an<COL INC '012>answer<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>to<COL INC '013>the<COL INC '013>need<COL INC '012>for<COL INC '013>automation<COL INC '013>of<COL INC '012>assembly<COL INC '013>in<COL INC '013>batch<COL INC '012>manufacturing<COL INC '013>industries<COL INC '013>where<COL INC '013>small<COL INC '012>production<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>runs rule out the use of special-purpose equipment.<CR><LINESPACE '003>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>We<COL INC '017>are<COL INC '017>implementing<COL INC '017>a<COL INC '017>system<COL INC '017>called<COL INC '017>AL<COL INC '017>for<COL INC '017>small<COL INC '017>scale<COL INC '017>batch<COL INC '017>manufacturing<COL INC '017>where<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>setup<COL INC '017>time<COL INC '017>is<COL INC '017>the<COL INC '017>key<COL INC '017>factor.<COL INC '017>We<COL INC '017>rely<COL INC '017>on<COL INC '017>a<COL INC '017>symbolic<COL INC '017>database<COL INC '017>and<COL INC '017>previously-defined<COL INC '016>assembly<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>primitives<COL INC '022>to<COL INC '022>minimize<COL INC '022>programming<COL INC '022>time.<COL INC '022>The<COL INC '022>system<COL INC '022>is<COL INC '022>capable<COL INC '022>of<COL INC '022>top-level<COL INC '022>planning<COL INC '021>and<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>intelligent<COL INC '020>interpretation<COL INC '020>of<COL INC '020>user<COL INC '020>defined<COL INC '020>primitives.<COL INC '020>The<COL INC '020>principal<COL INC '020>aim<COL INC '020>of<COL INC '020>this<COL INC '020>work<COL INC '020>is<COL INC '021>not<COL INC '020>to<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>provide<COL INC '014>a<COL INC '013>factory<COL INC '014>floor<COL INC '013>programming<COL INC '014>system<COL INC '013>but<COL INC '014>rather<COL INC '014>to<COL INC '013>design<COL INC '014>a<COL INC '013>language<COL INC '014>which<COL INC '013>will<COL INC '014>be<COL INC '014>a<COL INC '013>tool<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>for<COL INC '012>investigating<COL INC '012>the<COL INC '013>difficulty,<COL INC '012>necessary<COL INC '012>programming<COL INC '012>time,<COL INC '013>and<COL INC '012>feasibility<COL INC '012>of<COL INC '012>writing<COL INC '013>programs<COL INC '012>to<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000>control assembly operations.<CR><LF>
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>
<FONT SELECT '004>1.2 PHILOSOPHY OF DESIGN 
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<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>
<FONT SELECT '003>DATA AND CONTROL STRUCTURES
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<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000><COLUMN SEL '510>The<COL INC '012>principal<COL INC '012>mode<COL INC '012>of<COL INC '012>input<COL INC '012>to<COL INC '012>AL<COL INC '012>is<COL INC '012>textual,<COL INC '012>as<COL INC '012>opposed<COL INC '012>to<COL INC '012>spoken<COL INC '012>or<COL INC '012>manual<COL INC '012>(joystick).<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>There<COL INC '016>are<COL INC '015>levels<COL INC '016>of<COL INC '016>complexity<COL INC '015>which<COL INC '016>are<COL INC '016>much<COL INC '015>more<COL INC '016>readily<COL INC '016>transmitted<COL INC '015>from<COL INC '016>man<COL INC '016>to<COL INC '015>machine<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>through<COL INC '016>an<COL INC '016>interface<COL INC '016>of<COL INC '016>symbolic<COL INC '016>text.<COL INC '016> Simultaneous<COL INC '016>motions<COL INC '016>of<COL INC '016>two<COL INC '016>arms<COL INC '016>and<COL INC '016>termination<COL INC '015>and<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>error<COL INC '014>conditions<COL INC '015>are<COL INC '014>more<COL INC '015>likely<COL INC '014>to<COL INC '015>be<COL INC '014>unambiguously<COL INC '014>described<COL INC '015>through<COL INC '014>the<COL INC '015>medium<COL INC '014>of<COL INC '015>text;<COL INC '014>the<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>structure<COL INC '012>imposed<COL INC '012>on<COL INC '013>the<COL INC '012>textual<COL INC '012>language<COL INC '013>forces<COL INC '012>a<COL INC '012>consistent<COL INC '013>framework<COL INC '012>on<COL INC '012>initially<COL INC '013>less<COL INC '012>structured<CR><LF>
<COLUMN SEL '310>
<FONT SELECT '000>intuitive<COL INC '021>ideas.<COL INC '021> Non-textual<COL INC '021>forms<COL INC '021>of<COL INC '021>input<COL INC '020>for<COL INC '021>defining<COL INC '021>target<COL INC '021>locations<COL INC '021>and