Robot Builder's Bonanza, Third Edition

Product Description

#1 ROBOTICS BOOK OF ALL TIME SUPER-CHARGED BY A FAMOUS NEW CO-AUTHOR AND UPDATED TO REFLECT STATE-OF-THE-ART ADVANCES

Everybody's favorite amateur robotics book is bolder and better than ever -- and now features the field's "grand master" Myke Predko as the new author! Author duo McComb and Predko bring their expertise to this fully-illustrated robotics "bible" to enhance the already incomparable content on how to build -- and have a universe of fun -- with robots. Projects vary in complexity so everyone from novices to advanced hobbyists will find something of interest.

NEW TO THIS EDITION:

* 30 completely new projects
* All projects have been revamped to be more customizable
* More visual -- illustrations of the final product are right at the beginning of the chapter

Everything you need to build from plans provided or create your own designs:
* Robot Basics * Construction Techniques * Computer and Electronic Control * Power, Motors, and Locomotion * Practical Robotics Projects * Sensors and Navigation * Robot Programming * Tips, Tricks, and Tidbits
Product Details

* Amazon Sales Rank: #59084 in Books
* Published on: 2006-02-21
* Original language: English
* Number of items: 1
* Binding: Paperback
* 733 pages

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover
THE BEST AND BIGGEST ROBOTICS BOOK ON THE BLOCK—NOW BETTER THAN EVER—SUPERCHARGED WITH TWO TOP ROBOTICS AUTHORS!

Thousands of robot hobbyists -- and robots -- grew up on the first two editions on this book. Now Gordon McComb has partnered with fellow robotics enthusiast Myke Predko -- and together they've made this classic guide to building your very own robot more awesome than ever. Inside Robot Builder's Bonanza you'll find detailed plans for constructing robots that walk, see, feel, talk, listen, think -- and more!

Best of all, this book will make you want to build a robot -- and show you how you can! Packed with enthusiasm, fascinating science tidbits, field-tested projects, and modular organization to make it easy to invent and build your own designs, this best-seller puts it all together for anyone with the slightest curiosity about this fascinating hobby. Projects vary in complexity so everyone from novices to advanced hobbyists will find something to inspire and advance robot plans.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BUILD A ROBOT!
Follow a plan or create your own design

* Robot Basics
* Parts and Tools
* Practical Robotics Projects
* Money-Saving Hacks
* Construction Techniques: Plastic, Wood, & Metal
* Computer and Electronic Control
* Power, Motors, and Locomotion
* Sensors and Navigation
* Robot Programming
* Tips, Tricks, and Tidbits
* Avoiding Common Mistakes
* List of Sources for Parts and Ideas

FULLY ILLUSTRATED PLANS FOR 99 AMAZING ROBOTS
NEW to the Third Edition:

* 30 Completely New Projects!
* Hundreds of Helpful New Illustrations
* Customizability Added to Every Project
* More Materials and Tools You Can Use to Build Your Robots
* State-of-the-Art Advances
* More Help with Microcontrollers for the Beginner
* Developments in Remote Control
* Advanced Locomotion
* Information to Turn Toys into Automatons
* High-Tech Sensors
* Suggestions for Robotics Competitions and Competing
* 75% Fewer Bad Jokes

About the Author
Gordon McComb is an avid electronics hobbyist who has written for TAB Books for a number of years. He wrote the best-selling Troubleshooting and Repairing VCRs (now in its third edition), Gordon McComb's Gadgeteer's Goldmine, and Lasers, Ray Guns, and Light Cannons.

Myke Predko has 20 years experience in the design, manufacturing, and testing of electronic circuits. An experienced author, Myke wrote McGraw-Hill's best-selling 123 Robotics Projects for the Evil Genius; 123 PIC Microcontroller Experiments for the Evil Genius, PIC Microcontroller Pocket Reference; Programming and Customizing PIC Microcontrollers, Second Edition; Programming Robot Controllers; and other books, and is the principal designer of both TAB Electronics Build Your Own Robot Kits.
Customer Reviews

Survey vs. How to4
I enjoy the 3rd edition of this book. What it does well is that it breaks up the problem of building a robot into multiple sections in which builders get ideas on what to change for their robots. This includes changes in anything from what sensors to use to recommendations and ideas about building your own chassis from wood to plastic to well, whatever. It also gives you a nice reference to places to get parts and also references to other books to get even more information on individual topics. It doesn't really get into the level that other McComb books did such as the Lasers, Ray Guns, and Light Cannons: Projects from the Wizard's Workbench by Gordon McComb - it instead just briefly surveys a great many topics across a very very wide spectrum of possibilities. It's great for ideas- but it seems to lack a bit of a universal thread such as a representative building example that goes through the whole design process. But then again, it's not an engineering textbook... it's a bonanza.

Robot Builder Reference3
This is a good reference book for beginning robot builders. However, if you are really interested in getting started then invest the money into a cheap kit like Parallax's Basic Stamp2. Then move up to one of their robotics kits to get a hands on feel.

Interesting and informative4
A good way to describe this book is a cross between a textbook, a trade journal, and a catalog. Being definately a large volume, it attempts to cover a lot of information in bite sized chapters. I would think the best use for this book is as a reference. You can build some of the projects listed in it as stand alone applications, but they work best when combining them with your own ideas, or supplementing info from other book projects.

All in all, this book is a good addition to a robot reference library.