Intermediate Robot Building (Technology in Action)

Intermediate Robot Building (Technology in Action)
by David Cook

Intermediate Robot Building (Technology in Action)
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Book Summary Information

Author: David Cook
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-05-28
ISBN: 1430227540
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Apress

Book Reviews of Intermediate Robot Building (Technology in Action)

Book Review: Ultimate Skill Builder for Robotics--Machining,Electronic,Microcontroller
Summary: 5 Stars

David Cook, builds advanced skills in autonomous robot construction in an excellently designed text following on (but not necessarily depending upon) his excellent "Robot Building for Beginners". This outstanding tutorial assumes some basic skills in robot construction, and then describes and exquisitely illustrates the development of Machining, Mechanical, Electronic, and Microcontroller Modules around a "Roundabout Robot" Project. Mr. Cook builds out independently the skills used in each phase or area of robot construction around a suggested unified project. The Robot Constructor Hobbyist can rely on standard pre-planned modules for those aspects of robot construction that are of lessor interest while choosing to advance his/her skills in particular areas that are described in detail for the "Roundabouts" construction, gaining Machine Shop Skills, Electronic Design and Construction toolsets, or advanced skills in developing the Microcontroller "Brains" of a Robot. While I could just admire and learn from his explicit instructions and high-quality gray-scale photographs of Machining Practice, I do feel qualified to comment on his "Brains" and Microcontroller module entitled "If I Only Had A Brain". In this section he proceeds lightly with the details of Physical Computing and Basic Microcontroller skills that can easily be gathered from other books and online references, he provides an excellent guide to choosing between discrete Digital Logic chips and Microcontrollers, excellent heuristics in choosing a controller or Microcomputer chip, and advanced means of troubleshooting and making failsafe the Microcontroller Brain of a Robot using Watchdog Timers and Heartbeat Displays. I know of no other Hobbyist or "Professional" Robotics book that provides this level of understanding of the Intermediate and Advanced Use of Microcontrollers and Microcomputers.

This book is the Ultimate Skill Builder for the Robotics Hobbyist who wishes to advance beyond the simplest robot projects.

Summary of Intermediate Robot Building (Technology in Action)

For readers of Robot Building for Beginner (Apress, 2002 and 2009), welcome to the next level. Intermediate Robot Building, Second Edition offers you the kind of real-world knowledge that only renowned author David Cook can offer.

In this book, you?ll learn the value of a robot heartbeat and the purpose of the wavy lines in photocells. You?ll find out what electronic part you should sand. You?ll discover how a well-placed switch can help a robot avoid obstacles better than a pair of feelers. And you?ll avoid mistakes that can cause a capacitor to explode.

Want a robot that can explore rooms, follow lines, or battle opponents in mini-sumo? This book presents step-by-step instructions and circuit and part descriptions so that you can build the robot featured in the book or apply the modules to your own robot designs.

Finally, you?ll find the complete schematics for Roundabout, a room explorer that requires no programming and uses only off-the-shelf electronics. With Roundabout, you?ll use many of the same techniques used by professional robotics engineers, and you?ll experience many of the same challenges and joys they feel when a robot ?comes to life.?

What you?ll learn

  • How to build a robot from scratch
  • Digital electronics and moderate machining
  • How to use and integrate modern modules useful to all robots: power supplies, motor couplers, motor drivers (including H-bridges), opponent and obstacle detectors, and floor sensors.
  • How to embrace and extend the base robot design
  • How to use Roundabout, which operates with off-the-shelf brains, so that no programming is required
  • How the additions of a microcontroller, configuration switches, and even a music module all come together as a final two-tier automaton showing a versatile Robot who is seemingly the master of its domain.

Who this book is for

This book is aimed at intermediate builders: adults, college students, and advanced high school students. It requires background experience in electronics, at least to the extent covered by Robot Building for Beginners.

Because the hobby involves soldering, electricity, and light machining, the writing is targeted toward individuals with those capabilities.

The book has been referenced in a number of high school and college courses.

Table of Contents

  1. Assembling a Modular Robot
  2. Comparing Two Types of Homemade Motor Couplers and Common Errors to Avoid
  3. Making a Fixture and Drilling Solid Rods for a Coupler
  4. Finishing the Solid-Rod Motor Coupler
  5. Building a Motor Inside a Wheel
  6. Understanding the Standards and Setup for Electronic Experiments
  7. Creating a Linear Voltage-Regulated Power Supply
  8. Making Robot Power Supply Improvements
  9. Driving Miss Motor
  10. Driving Mister Motor
  11. Creating an Infrared Modulated Obstacle, Opponent, and Wall Detector
  12. Fine-Tuning the Reflector Detector
  13. Roundabout Robot!
  14. Test Driving Roundabout
  15. If I Only Had a Brain
  16. Building Roundabout?s Daughterboard
  17. Adding the Floor Sensor Module
  18. Cooking Up Some Robot Stew

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