Product Description

Text provides 123 experiments to bring out the genius in every basement hobbyist. Introduces readers to robotics, electronics, and programming; so you don't need to be a science whiz to get started. Shows how you can create simple robots and models using inexpensive materials and tools found around the house and workroom. Includes a printed circuit board. Softcover. DLC: Robotics.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #199425 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 355 pages

From the Back Cover
123 ROBOT EXPERIMENTS!

123 STEPS NEEDED TO BRING OUT THE GENIUS IN EVERY BASEMENT HOBBYIST!

If you enjoy tinkering in your workshop and have a fascination for robotics, you'll have hours of fun working through the 123 experiments found in this innovative project book.

More than just an enjoyable way to spend time, these exciting experiments also provide a solid grounding in robotics, electronics, and programming. Each experiment builds on the skills acquired in those before it so you develop a hands-on, nuts-and-bolts understanding of robotics -- from the ground up.

123 Robotics Projects for the Evil Genius --

* Introduces you to robotics, electronics, and programming for robotics step-by-step -- you don't need to be a science whiz to get started, but you will be when you have finished
* Vividly explains the science behind robots and the technologies needed to build them, including: Electronics; Mechanical assembly; Motors and batteries; Programming and microcontrollers
* Shows how you can create simple robots and models using materials found around the house and workroom
* Requires only inexpensive, easily obtained parts and tools
* Provides a PCB (printed circuit board) that will make it easy to create the circuits used in this book as well as your own experiments
* Gives you directions for building a maze-solving robot, two different designs for a light-seeking robot, an artificial intelligence program that will respond to you, and much more
* Explains underlying principles and suggests other applications
* Supplies parts lists and program listings

IMAGINATIVE EXPERIMENTS THAT TEACH THE BASICS -- WHILE PROVIDING HOURS OF FUN!

About the Author
Myke Predko is a New Technologies Test Engineer at Celestica in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of McGraw-Hill's Programming and Customizing PICMicro Microcontrollers, Second Edition, and is the principal designer of the TAB Electronics Sumo-Bot.

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Customer Reviews

Fun read - also a scavenger hunt!
Great book but I have spent several hours in Radio Shack and a local Electronics supply house searching for the parts needed for the PCB and still have only about half of what I need. I found this site: http://www.hobbyengineering.com/SectionBP.html that has all the parts in a kit form, so I will order from them and see how that works out. Otherwise a fun and informative book so far.

A mixed bag of feelings
This is a good book, in the sense that it teaches you a variety of topics from basic electronics to intermediate/advanced robotics, including some MCU programming. It does this in a series of experiments (lessons) that you follow thru. However, the book's goal is *not* to teach you how to build a single unique robot, instead, you learn how the different "parts" (circuits or sub-systems) of a robot do work by themselves. So you understand how each piece of the puzzle works, but it's up to you to actually "assemble" the puzzle on to completion.

I found some of the lessons vague, and not all of them include pictures. Without a picture, you must read the descriptions carefully, and just hope you are doing everything right. Many times, the author simply forgets that a picture speaks for a thousand words.

Another con I find is this: for every lesson, you need a parts list. That is, imagine you are only interested in completing 30% of the lessons. You will then have to travel 37 times to The Shack or some online store to get the parts. And no, no catalog part numbers. And worse yet, for many of the lessons you must buy or get hard-to-find parts that will only be used in that particular lesson. I don't find that neither inexpensive or enjoyable.

It is a good book, but I don't think it would be a good choice for beginners. In fact, I am still unsure of its target audience.

A great intro to electronics and robotics
The first 2/3rds of this book are more about electronics in general than robotics, but it's a great way to see how all the parts really work and interrelate. It really takes away a lot of the mystery. The author's writing style is geared towards high-schoolers, but at the same time he doesn't dumb it down. As a 40-year old with little electronics background, but lots of computer programming, this was a great relief to me.

Each recipe comes with a full list of parts and tools required, so you can head to RadioShack or wherever knowing you have what you need. Highly recommended.