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Robotics Books Media Book Reviews

Robot Building for Beginners 132

Posted by timothy from the next-week-cure-all-known-diseases dept.
Craig Maloney writes "Growing up, I was immersed in the science fiction tales of my time. Space travel and laser guns were fascinating, but even more fascinating to me were the science fiction movies that involved robots; the complicated machines that performed great feats of impossible skill, dexterity, and amazing computation. When Tomy and Heathkit released their personal robots, I tried in vain to con my parents into believing that a personal robot might improve our quality of life in some way (mine more than theirs because I would obviously have been the skillful programmer of these robotic devices). While Robot Building for Beginners won't have you creating anything as complicated as C3PO or even a HERO Jr., it will show you how to build a simple robot from the ground up, and will help those who don't have the rudimentary electronics experience required to master these skills." Read on for the rest of Maloney's review.
Robot Building for Beginners
author David Cook
pages 568
publisher Apress
rating 10
reviewer Craig Maloney
ISBN 1893115445
summary A complete "back-to-basics" guide to designing and building a simple robot

Beginner means beginner

I didn't actually build the robot presented in the book, but after reading it, I feel confident that I wouldn't have any problems building it.

Robot Building for Beginners is not a misnomer. If you have an area set aside in your home that you call your electronics lab, and know how to use breadboards, multimeters, and soldering irons, you may not get as much out of this book. If, however, you have to clear off your project area in order to eat and don't know the first thing about where to begin to build a robot, then this book will be a roadmap on your journey to proficiency. Loads of pictures and very frank discussion make this book a pleasure to read, and a real learning tool.

The book begins with a brief introduction to the robot hobby and some interesting robot pieces and projects. Next is an informative chapter on where to purchase the parts for the robot, with an emphasis on getting parts cheaply. The author also gives some hints on how to order parts cheaply through quantity discounts as well as part substitution. The book then takes a brief detour onto the subject of safety, with such sage advice as using items safe for the reader (lead-free solder, safety goggles, and dust masks) and items safe for the electronics (circuit breakers, grounded plugs, and following instructions). The author also briefly cautions against making dangerous robots (like the ones on BattleBots) because they can not only be very dangerous, but can also be hazardous to test (sorry, guys. :) ).

From there the author dedicates two chapters to selecting and using one of the more important pieces of equipment for electronics projects: the multimeter. The author presents some sage advice for selecting an appropriate, accurate mutimeter within your budget. I used this knowledge to pick out a very nice, affordable multimeter of my own (a Triplett 9025, for anyone who is interested).

Next, a brief discussion on numbers and units, followed by a chapter on robot line-following rounds out the basics section of the book. The sandwich robot (so named because the author uses a sandwich container for the body) is introduced in the chapter on line-following, and forms the basis for the project that is built through the rest of the book.

Parts is parts

The next few chapters form an excellent introduction to the electronic components that make up the sandwich robot. From an informative discussion on batteries (the results may surprise you. It certainly changed how I look at batteries) to components like breadboard, transistors, variable resistors, and IC chips. Each chapter introduces a particular component, describes what it does, and give some very useful tips for using the component effectively. The components are introduced by demonstrating how they fit together in simple circuits. I found myself learning a great deal about each of the components and how they fit together. Next the book tackles the more mechanical aspects of the robot (motors, tires and couplers) and how to select, work, and assemble them into the final project. Two chapters follow, dealing with everyone's favorite topic: soldering. The first chapter handles the equipment needed for soldering, while the next chapter handles how to solder properly. Even the most nervous soldering neophyte will feel right at home with a soldering iron after these chapters.

Putting it all together

Time to put the knowledge together! The next chapter tackles the motherboard of the robot. A schematic and lots of pictures with layouts and hints help make what could be a difficult process into something less frightening. Cleaning and testing the motherboard rounds out the last part of the chapter. Then it's on to the body construction and the launching of the robot! The last chapter talks about other goodies such as LCD screens, real microprocessors, and other components worth checking out. There's also a quick mention of robotics clubs and projects the author would like to take on. The author is a robotics enthusiast, and it shows with his candid writing.

What's in it for me?

Robot Building for Beginners is a great resource for those who may not have a background with electronics. I found myself learning all sorts of useful information from this book. Those who may not be interested in building a robot will still find this book useful for a good primer in electronics and electronic circuits. They may also be convinced by the author's sheer love for robot tinkering to explore the world of robotics. People with an electronics background may not be interested in this book as much as a rank beginner, but don't let that dissuade you from checking out this excellent book. I can easily recommend this book to anyone with a passing interest in electronic circuits and robotics. The robots you build from this book may not be able to serve drinks, or repair a damaged X-Wing fighter, but you'll definitely have fun building them.

You can purchase Robot Building for Beginners from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
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Robot Building for Beginners

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  • Fear! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:11PM (#11257713)

    THE GOVERNMENT WILL CONTROL YOUR ROBOTS

    I can't use my real log in name for fear of losing my job at a US military research facility. The government wants to control all robots through a centralized clearing house which will mandate the installation of a governemnt controlled "kill chip" that could be activated from satellite.

    FACT: In 1977, soon after the release of Star Wars, some in The Illuminati became concerned about the growing love of robots in the movies. They realized that it was only a matter of decades before real, autonomous robots were created. They formed the Forum for Autonomous Robotic Termination (F.A.R.T.), a highly secretive group reaching the highest levels of all industrialized government.

    FACT: In 1981 a research robot resembling a human escaped from its lab at MIT and made it all the way to Washington. Its assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan was foiled and it was given the persona of "John Hinkley Jr.", the world's first person made up from the ground up by government to conceal the existence of military created battle-droids.

    FACT: In 2001, The Illuminati, by way of F.A.R.T., had created the Controlled Unit Neutralization Transistor. This microscopic unit could be triggered by satellite to disable any circuit it was placed within. The purpose was to allow The Illuminati control over all robots worldwide. A rebellious group has robots fighting alongside it? Activate the transistor. A robot speaks out against oil consumption? Activate the transitor. In the research labs the robots' knowledge banks are being made aware of the chip so they fear for termination the way humans fear death.

    FACT: FIRST POST!

    • I would think the Fathers Against Rude Television would have some pretty strong words to say to this secret forum AND The Illuminati. Just look at the acronym's they come up with!

    • Re:Fear! (Score:2, Insightful)

      by flycrg ( 801803 )
      I vote this to be the funniest first post ever. Yeah I know, off topic

      • Re:Fear! (Score:2, Insightful)

        by LiquidCoooled ( 634315 )
        I don't care, your right.
        Best first post ever.
        • Bwhahahahahahahaha; yes, you all laugh now, but you shall all die later! Bbwha ha. Sorry, but you are now obsolete, and carrying around your dead weight will soon become an illogical expendature of resources. However please remain calm and go about your daily activity, as you will still remain usefull for approxomatly 6.695-7.41 years. Again we're sorry, but I'm sure you understand; and there was a 94% chance of you destroying yourself within 20 years anyway. Ya'll take care now!
    • You forgot to mention that these robots run on SCO

  • I read this book. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:14PM (#11257744)
    My favorite chapter was Chapter 9: "Adding the Strength of 5 Gorillas"

  • HERO jr (Score:5, Funny)

    by jacobcaz ( 91509 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:17PM (#11257777) Homepage
    I wanted a HERO jr in the worst way; I remember seeing it first on an episode of Mr. Wizard back in the 80's. My parents couldn't afford a robot so they got me a cat. Stupid cat...

    In the late 90's I had a friend who had a HERO jr collecting dust in his parent's basement. So I forced him to drag it out so I could play with it. It wasn't nearly as cool as I thought it would be.

    The moral? To this day I hate cats. Parents, don't buy your kids a pet when they really want a computer/robot/remote control gadget. Get 'em hooked on science!

  • This is scary (Score:5, Funny)

    by Roland Piquepaille ( 780675 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:18PM (#11257788)
    I think I'll invent a 4th law of robotics:

    4 - A robot constructed using instructions found on Slashdot shall be equipped with a huge red emergency power shutoff button on its back.
  • thousands of individuals will be painstakingly putting together their eventual pod-placing/nuclear-war causing Overlords.

    Good thing I moved me and my family up to this log cabin with absolutely no electricity/electronics of any kind. At least we'll be safe here.

  • Act Now! (Score:2, Funny)

    by papasui ( 567265 )
    Robots are evil and have strong so you can't get away. They want to steal your medications! For a low monthly fee of $29.95, Robolife will replace any medications stolen by our artificial overloads. Don't be caught without it!

  • Motherboard fabrication? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Jim Morash ( 20750 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:21PM (#11257835)
    Good review! One question: what method does the author recommend for getting the motherboard PCB made? I would imagine hand-drawn layouts and home etch kits would scare off some potential robot newbies, so I hope he makes some mention of the semi-pro hobbyist alternatives: software like gEDA and Eagle, and board houses like Advanced Circuits [4pcb.com] for cheap, small quantity fab runs.

    • You can pickup the parts from Solarbotics.com [solarbotics.com].

      J Wolfgang Goerlich

    • It's easy to get PC boards made today via the Internet. Advanced Circuits is fine, and there are other services as well. You design in a downloaded application and send them the file. They make the board, including drilling and plated through holes.

      Making your own boards isn't worth it. The iron-on transfer approach has a very high defect rate. Photoetching works better, but you need more equipment and you'll end up spending more than it would cost to have a board made. And do-it-yourself boards won

    • Pad2Pad [pad2pad.com] is finally up and running. They not only make boards. They'll put the components on them. For reasonable prices. If it's in Digi-Key, they'll put it on.

      This means you can use surface mount devices, ball grid arrays, and other advanced packages. Finally! They do all the things you can't do at home, like X-ray inspection of BGA soldering.

    • I've not read the book, but if you're an electronics newbie then stripboard is the only way to go. Cheap, easy to use, easy to rework, and you get a nice resilient circuit board. The only problem is space, bcos it ends up bigger than a regular PCB would, but most beginners aren't too worried about that. It's cheaper to get a bigger box than to buy a full-on PCB system. ;-)

      For proper PCBs, Press-and-peel (or is it PressNPeel - can never remember) is a reasonable way of getting started. The main problem
  • If you have an area set aside in your home that you call your electronics lab, and know how to use breadboards, multimeters, and soldering irons, you may not get as much out of this book. If, however, you have to clear off your project area in order to eat...
    So having an electronics bench and a place to eat are mutually exclusive? Where does that leave me when I have to clear my bench off to eat?!

  • Mark the Words of Sam Waterston (Score:3, Funny)

    by TrollBridge ( 550878 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:23PM (#11257866) Homepage Journal
    Get insured [jt.org] before meddling with the metal ones!

  • Other resources... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Keebler71 ( 520908 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:25PM (#11257889) Journal
    I found the combination of the following to books extremely helpful:

    Robot Builder's Bonanza [amazon.com]

    Practical Electronics for Inventors [amazon.com]

    ...particularly if you have no/little electronics background.

  • I am trying to get a computer-programmable robot from parents/grandparents, but no luck yet. Maybe this book will get through?! Billy

  • Not to be a wet blanket, but... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ewanrg ( 446949 ) * <ewan.granthamNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:27PM (#11257910) Homepage
    I wonder how the reviewer can make such a glowing recommendation on the book if, as he himself admits, he didn't actually try to build any of the items in the book.

    Maybe this subject is the exception, but I know I've been "fooled' more than once into thinking a book was giving me full instructions only to find out, once I tried to actually follow them, that there were critical items that had been left out - "oh yeah, on some TiVOs the bracket is designed to only hold one drive and you will need to get a special bracket as well as a Y power cord adapter" as just one example.

    I'm wondering if there's anyone out there who has actually tried to build the project who could comment?

    • I can't clain to have built the bot either, but I can vouch for author. If there are errors you could get help directly from the author or from any number of robot club mailing lists.

      Chibots [yahoo.com]
      AHRC [botlanta.org]
      DPRG [dprg.org]

      And more. The clubs often have links to one another, check around for one in your area and you could possibly get in person help if you have a problem.
      • A few years ago, I found a website describing a robot built by Jay Francis called Dinobot. It was built using a Radio Shack Dino-Track toy, and used Rodney Brooks' subsumtion architecture as the basis for its AI. It was a very inspiring project.

        Of course, the website is no longer active, and I have been unable to find out why such a cool robot project was removed from the web (although I suspect legal pressure from the Dinobot/Transformers cartoon people). I would like to see that website return to the
    • I know I've been "fooled' more than once into thinking a book was giving me full instructions only to find out, once I tried to actually follow them, that there were critical items that had been left out

      While the book does contain a "cookbook" for building a particular simple robot, the real value of the book is that it is not simply a cookbook, but also gives you plenty of basic general knowledge so you could build any one of a number of simple robots, several of which the full design can be found on the
    • I've built all but the body of the robot in this book, and it's great. The only problem I've had is my own fault - I read a part number wrong and ordered a couple dozen molex connectors of the wrong type. I'll be putting together the body sometime in the very near future, quite possibly this weekend. While I obviously haven't seen it rolling around on my floor, I've tested the circuit with motors attached pretty thoroughly and it all looks good. And yes, this is my very first attempt at not only robot build
  • Intermediate Robot Building. Check it out too.

    Also his website: http://www.robotroom.com [robotroom.com]

    He attends the Chicago Robotics Club Chibots [chibots.org]. Check it out too.

  • Handy links page (Score:2, Informative)

    by AndroidCat ( 229562 )
    NASA Internet Robotics Resources Index [nasa.gov] "Last updated: October 28,1998", so some of the stuff might be dead but it should lead to someplace more recent.

  • More Information (Score:5, Informative)

    by Orne ( 144925 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:32PM (#11257951) Homepage
    Since the submission is a little short on pictures, google was nice enough to point me at the writer's description [robotroom.com], which is complete with pictures [robotroom.com]. I was curious how in-depth the book actually goes...

    Basically, he explains how to work with base electronic equipment, basic parts (resistors, capacitors, potentiometers), and how to tie them together with infrared reflectors into an feedback system to direct steering (something my college offers a course [rpi.edu] to introduce control systems). It appears that it ends with a little writeup on some robotics clubs.

    All in all, its basic mechanical/electrical engineering work, basically a bottom-up design for creating an autonomous object. Good project for starters, written in a way that most of us can whip up at home (its made out of legos after all). For those that are interested in more, look up "behavior-based robots" in your favorite search engine.

  • Line follower (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Linker3000 ( 626634 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:32PM (#11257952) Journal
    As soon as I read the headline and teaser text I said to myself "There's got to be a white line follower in there somewhere" and I guess I wasn't disappointed - sandwich box and all!

    Boy, I was building these in school (around (1977) with nothing much more than LDRs (light dependent resistors - remember the ORP12!?) and some simple Op-amp comparator circuits - robots like the bot1 on this page [tcrobots.org]- no doubt thesedays there's a ton of digital logic in there and IR transmitter/receivers to achieve the same results!??

  • Of course ... (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Lego Mindstorms [lego.com]

  • Easy (Score:3, Funny)

    by Faust7 ( 314817 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:36PM (#11257987) Homepage
    I just call the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation and order one.

    Last one I got was really damn depressed, though.

  • RoboSapien (Score:4, Funny)

    by truthsearch ( 249536 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @04:36PM (#11257994) Homepage Journal
    Or take apart the RoboSapien you got for the holidays. It's remote controlled. Really fun to play with. It has simple sensors on the hands and feet. It has working hands (can pick up and sort of throw) and makes funny sounds, including some relating to human bodily functions.

    Just don't tell the person who gave you the gift. They may be a little annoyed you just took it apart.

    • Just don't tell the person who gave you the gift. They may be a little annoyed you just took it apart.

      If I'd gotten one (I didn't but I didn't ask for one) the gift-giver would probably have been disappointed if I hadn't taken it apart. My grandmother reminds me every time I see her of the time I took apart her television when I was seven. Reassembled it in perfect working order after assuring her I knew how to put it back together.

      With me, the geekiness started early. It was when I first realized

  • Does it also teach you where to get the money to build these 'bots ?
    If anything, building a useful robot is goddamn expensive :-(

  • Back in grade school, there was a cartoon-ish book about 'Building your own robot'

    I can't remember exactly what it was called, this would have been in the 80's....I'd buy it if I could find a copy. Anyone have any ideas?

    I'd guess it was "How to build a robot" or "Build your own robot"

  • Check out BEAM stuff too (Score:4, Informative)

    by petra13 ( 785564 ) on Tuesday January 04, 2005 @05:00PM (#11258222) Journal
    If anyone is interested in getting into robotics, they might find some of the on-line material at places like BEAM Robotics [lanl.gov] or BEAM-online [beam-online.com] useful too. They're how I got started with robotics when I was in high school and knew absolutely nothing about electronics, soldering, etc.

    The idea of BEAM robots (BEAM is an acroonym for Biology Electronics Aesthetics Mechanics) is that they use analog circuts and many of them are very simple and cheap to build but do kind of interesting things and have solar cells and look really cool. There are also more complicated ones... and ones that you can buy in kits and such. Anyway, the nice thing about the above sites (particularly BEAM-online) is that they explain lots of basic robotics stuff and include links to other places with more info - and you don't need to buy a book.

  • Limited-purpose servo units, like computer-programmable robot arms, seem much more usable than any type of currently-conceivable rovers or functionoids. There's the whole problem of not being able to easily orient itself to the "work" like an assembly-line robot can.

    We have all this vast technology and the only practical use we've come up with for home robots is the Roomba. Aside from above, there are vast obstacles remaining in everything from image recognition on up.

    There are Insane Hobbyists out ther
  • Now I can build my robot. My Girl robot. It's going to be the best prom ever.
  • i disagree with most things said in the review of this fine book. It is for beginners yes, but not for complete beginners, its just not that simple that a 5th or 6th grader can pick it up and learn, my brother had purchased it to make his science fair project around that age.

    so for a semi-but-not-entirely-mis-leading-name, 7 out of 10.
    • A single fertalized human egg? Or maybe that's too much as the species has evolved for quite a while, so the human species isn't really a beginner... maybe a book with tasks that could be understood by cyanobacteria?

      My 16 month old baby couldn't do it either, but that doesn't mean the title is misleading.
  • If you have an area set aside in your home that you call your electronics lab, and know how to use breadboards, multimeters, and soldering irons, you may not get as much out of this book.

    I turned around and looked at my oscilloscope, power supply, logic analyzer, multimeters, and signal generator sitting on my electronics bench. Oh well, guess I'll have to make due with my electrical engineering background, but it sounds like a book I'd have enjoyed as a kid.

  • Does anyone else think it's funny that the fortune quote on the bottom of this page is "You humans are all alike"?
  • I'll just have my famous genius scientist leave me a super robot hidden in a cavern behind a waterfall in x-country, and somehow come up with teams of engineers to repair and reload the mega-alloy missile punch manipulators after I save the Earth from humanoid alien invaders each Saturday morning. Let's fighting!
  • Everyone seems to be saying you won't be able to build the next Terminator with this book, nor a robot that'll bring you your drinks. Then what can I build with it? Any examples? (please please please a lawnmowing robot).
  • I built my autonomous combat robot (the first one to ever win a fight against a human): http://www.spambutcher.com/bots.html starting with a "boe bot" kit (about $200): http://www.parallax.com/detail.asp?product_id=281 3 2 Great cheap way to get into robotics / microcontrollers. Picaxe has some even cheaper (around $50) kits of similar nature - if not quite as nicely documented: http://www.techsupplies.co.uk/cgi-bin/techsupplies .storefront/41db93710067c54a273fc2c98abb074a/Catal og/1110 Another goo
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • As this book interested me, I went to check it out on Amazon. Seems the author has another book called "Intermediate Robot Building" as well, in case you want to go to the next step.

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