Robo sapiens: Evolution of a New Species

Rating:
Summary: Excellent "gotta have" book on robots!
Review: It appears a great deal of effort was put into compiling this work. It provides an excellent overview (although brief) on current robotics and trends. Although, as an "expert" I previously knew most of the contents prior to reading this book, I find that it is both a great reference for the roboticist and great fascinator for the general lay person. This is a book that definitely belongs on the professional/professor's shelf and in the doctor's office! A must see for students entering the field of robotics as well.

Rating:
Summary: Read the notices
Review: Read in depth reviews on the merits of this title in Scientific American (Oct 2000); Wall Street Journal (9/22/2000); Wired(september 2000); Discovery(September); Salon.

Rating:
Summary: A good read that is also a great coffee table book
Review: Robo sapiens is a collection of short interviews with people from all over the field of robotics. Each interview is at most a couple of pages long and is accompanied by beautiful pictures as well as supplementary commentary by the interviewers. The interviews themselves are pretty lightweight. You'll get some idea of what people are working on in the field, but don't expect anything in depth. Overall the book is a good, lightweight read. You can pick it up and read an interview or two and then not touch it for a couple of days. Some reviews have suggested this is a bad thing, but I think it is exactly what the book intends to provide.The book itself is rather large and contains beautiful photographs that have an artistic element to them. This adds to the browseability of the book and makes it something you might want to leave out for others.

Rating:
Summary: A good read that is also a great coffee table book
Review: Robo sapiens is a collection of short interviews with people from all over the field of robotics. Each interview is at most a couple of pages long and is accompanied by beautiful pictures as well as supplementary commentary by the interviewers. The interviews themselves are pretty lightweight. You'll get some idea of what people are working on in the field, but don't expect anything in depth. Overall the book is a good, lightweight read. You can pick it up and read an interview or two and then not touch it for a couple of days. Some reviews have suggested this is a bad thing, but I think it is exactly what the book intends to provide.The book itself is rather large and contains beautiful photographs that have an artistic element to them. This adds to the browseability of the book and makes it something you might want to leave out for others.

Rating:
Summary: Robo sapiens - great title, awful book
Review: The authors traveled a lot to get their interviews but the resulting book is a big disappointment. I got the impression that they were more interested in making some clever photos than producing a good piece of work on the subject of robotics. To be fair, there were a few items of interest but they didn't make the book worthwhile. The format of the book is interviews which makes the reading rather boring, the content disorganized, and any meaningful information very difficult to find. If you are interested in robotics, this book is not for you.

Rating:
Summary: Robo sapiens - great title, awful book
Review: The authors traveled a lot to get their interviews but the resulting book is a big disappointment. I got the impression that they were more interested in making some clever photos than producing a good piece of work on the subject of robotics. To be fair, there were a few items of interest but they didn't make the book worthwhile. The format of the book is interviews which makes the reading rather boring, the content disorganized, and any meaningful information very difficult to find. If you are interested in robotics, this book is not for you.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing quite like it
Review: They can climb stairs, juggle balls, open a door, smile engagingly, hear and see, swing like a monkey, crawl like a crab and swim like a fish. Who? Why the robots, of course. This startling picture book explores the amazing scope of robot capabilities. The photographs of the robots and their creators provide a unique picture of the dawn of these intelligent machines. The narratives are brief and to the point, explaining just enough but always remaining as support for the pictures. As I thumbed through this book, it became clear that the development of humanlike robots will come one project at a time, not by a thunderous breakthrough from a single genius working in a dark lab. Definitely buy this book; there's nothing quite like it.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing quite like it
Review: They can climb stairs, juggle balls, open a door, smile engagingly, hear and see, swing like a monkey, crawl like a crab and swim like a fish. Who? Why the robots, of course. This startling picture book explores the amazing scope of robot capabilities. The photographs of the robots and their creators provide a unique picture of the dawn of these intelligent machines. The narratives are brief and to the point, explaining just enough but always remaining as support for the pictures. As I thumbed through this book, it became clear that the development of humanlike robots will come one project at a time, not by a thunderous breakthrough from a single genius working in a dark lab. Definitely buy this book; there's nothing quite like it.

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST overiew of robotics today
Review: This book gives a non-technical overview of robotics today, written by non-technical people with the common man in mind. As a result, it is FUUUUUUUUN to read!!!! People who are skeptical of robotics progress -> READ THIS BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: THE BEST overiew of robotics today
Review: This book gives a non-technical overview of robotics today, written by non-technical people with the common man in mind. As a result, it is FUUUUUUUUN to read!!!! People who are skeptical of robotics progress -> READ THIS BOOK!