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Robot Building for Beginners

Posted by timothy on 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.

8 of 132 comments (clear)

  1. Motherboard fabrication? by Jim+Morash · · Score: 4, Informative

    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 for cheap, small quantity fab runs.

    1. Re:Motherboard fabrication? by jwgoerlich · · Score: 2, Informative

      You can pickup the parts from Solarbotics.com.

      J Wolfgang Goerlich

  2. Other resources... by Keebler71 · · Score: 4, Informative
    I found the combination of the following to books extremely helpful:

    Robot Builder's Bonanza

    Practical Electronics for Inventors

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

    --
    "It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance." - Thomas Sowell
  3. Handy links page by AndroidCat · · Score: 2, Informative

    NASA Internet Robotics Resources Index "Last updated: October 28,1998", so some of the stuff might be dead but it should lead to someplace more recent.

    --
    One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
  4. More Information by Orne · · Score: 4, Informative

    Since the submission is a little short on pictures, google was nice enough to point me at the writer's description, which is complete with pictures. 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 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.

  5. Of course ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Lego Mindstorms

  6. Re:Not to be a wet blanket, but... by Mr.+Underhill · · Score: 2, Informative

    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
    AHRC
    DPRG

    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.

  7. Check out BEAM stuff too by petra13 · · Score: 4, Informative
    If anyone is interested in getting into robotics, they might find some of the on-line material at places like BEAM Robotics or BEAM-online 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.