Robot Building for Beginners

Rating:
Summary: Read it! Loved it!
Review: A book that brings robots to the people. Cook is the sort of dedicated engineer who grows absolutely rhapsodic over a circuit board and before long, his enthusiasm is contagious. I can see this becoming a handbook for generations of bright-eyed tinkerers. And as for helping fathers and sons to bond, well, what better place to start than with Cook's chapter on The Motherboard.

Rating:
Summary: The definitive beginner's book!
Review: As a beginner and someone who has gone through several "beginner" robot building books, I cannot recommend this book enough. Not only does the book give step by step instructions on building a line-following robot, but it will also explain what each part does, why it was picked, where to get it, etc. This will be extremely useful later, when building your own robots. Other books will either assume you know something you don't, or give you step-by-step instructions without the rationale behind them. If you have to get only one book, then Robot Building for Beginners is the one (a cliche, but true nonetheless).

Rating:
Summary: Robot Building for Beginners
Review: As a beginner and someone who has gone through several "beginner" robot building books, I cannot recommend this book enough. Not only does the book give step by step instructions on building a line-following robot, but it will also explain what each part does, why it was picked, where to get it, etc. This will be extremely useful later, when building your own robots. Other books will either assume you know something you don't, or give you step-by-step instructions without the rationale behind them. If you have to get only one book, then Robot Building for Beginners is the one (a cliche, but true nonetheless).

Rating:
Summary: The definitive beginner's book!
Review: As a beginner and someone who has gone through several "beginner" robot building books, I cannot recommend this book enough. Not only does the book give step by step instructions on building a line-following robot, but it will also explain what each part does, why it was picked, where to get it, etc. This will be extremely useful later, when building your own robots. Other books will either assume you know something you don't, or give you step-by-step instructions without the rationale behind them. If you have to get only one book, then Robot Building for Beginners is the one (a cliche, but true nonetheless).

Rating:
Summary: Dull and obvious
Review: Author David Cook gives us a book on the obvious, the mundane, and the superficial. A full two-thirds of the book is not on building robots at all, but on very basic electronics, a topic far better handled by other books. With this Cook fills the book with inconsequential photographs and other fluff to fatten the book. For instance, he shows us a picture of a resistor with a particular value, then a little later in the chapter, another picture of a different value resistor. The difference to the eye is just the color-coding of the resistor, and the pictures are in black & white! Useless. When the book does start to cover robotics, it pays amazing short shrift to the subject, glossing over details expected in a "beginner's" book. The sample robot, made from a plastic sandwich box, is far from inspiring. Would-be robot builders are better off with Forrest Mims Radio Shack books for electronics information, McComb's, Wise's, or Lunt's books on robotics, and an inexpensive robot kit to get them started.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for those looking to explore robot building!
Review: Excellent book. I am getting my parts together and hope to have my own little 'Sandwich' Robot like the one created in this book. It will be my first robot. This book is easy to understand and the author explains technical details masterfully. This book is a great way to explore robot building without getting frustrated.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent work, with great attention to detail
Review: I bought this book and the newer intermediate book (also by Cook) together to start a new hobby. It is very thorough, with great close up pictures, and aims to walk you through the entire process, from beginning to end, of constructing a single, relatively simple robot. If you are truly a beginner, I honestly believe you cannot do better. I have read through most of it once, like a novel, and have referred to it dozens of times since, more like a reference. I have all the major parts now, except the tires and M&M tube, and am about 65% finished. It is really fun, and having the book at your side is second only to having a wise grandfather looking over your shoulder as you work.

I was concerned that it would be overly simplified for me, as I have a master's in CS, and have tinkered with electronics before. It is true that certain parts have been review, but I must admit that after three or four times of saying, "Well that's interesting...", I must now concede that I have learned a great deal, all preconceptions aside. I can only conclude that there must have been several gaps in my knowledge, which I was pleased to have filled by reading this book. My only gripe with the book is that it's difficult to use as a reference. I'm not sure how you'd fix this, I only know I constantly find myself searching for something I read before, only to find it later when I'm no longer looking (and after I had spent several minutes trying). This is quite minor though, and I realize it's probably impossible to have a book that both reads like a novel and functions as a reference (after all, the book is already quite large).

I can't wait to finish construction - the next step is soldering, and I've got this fancy Hakko 936 I'm quite anxious to use. Also, I suspect the next book will be even more interesting, as I've been thinking a lot about how much fun it would be programming the microcontroller. I would guess after I'm done with that book that I'll either continue building more robots on my own, or move on to something else. One thing is for certain though, and that is that this has been great fun, and I would recommend it to any disciplined and curious beginning tinkerer. What better way to simultaneously advance your knowledge of several interesting scientific areas (mechanical engineering, electronics, etc.) while having a great time?

Rating:
Summary: A better title...Basic Electronics with a Robot Example
Review: I don't dislike this book, but I don't find it all that useful in terms of robotic design. It does have good coverage of very basic electronics for the beginner, with crystal clear photos to show you the ropes. Don't know how to use a multimeter or know what a resistor is? This book is for you. However, if you want to know how to control, say a servo, you only get a brief paragraph telling you what one is. The book seems to do a lot of that--telling you what something does, but not giving you enough information to do something with it.
For most of the book, you get a sense that the author simply looked through an electronics catalog, selected some key parts, and wrote a brief discription of what kinds there are, and what they do. Along the way, he shows how you can use those parts to make a simple robot.
This would be a good book to accompany another more applications-based book (or online site) on electronics (e.g. Radio Shack's Forrest Mimms Enginner's Notebooks, Practical Electronics for Inventors, etc.).
In terms of robotics, unforunately, you get one simple example and that's it. Very frustrating for those who want to make something more than a simple sandwhich box that follows a line. (It's a clever little design, nevertheless).
With all bad things said, I do think the book has positives. It has many helpful hints for selecting parts, tips for prototyping, and is writen in a friendly, easy-to-read style.
For those who know nothing at all about electronics and aren't too interested in robots, but more interested in basic electronics--5 stars. For those who have more than rudimentary knowledge of electronics and looking for a variety of robots projects--1 star.

Rating:
Summary: A better title...Basic Electronics with a Robot Example
Review: I don't dislike this book, but I don't find it all that useful in terms of robotic design. It does have good coverage of very basic electronics for the beginner, with crystal clear photos to show you the ropes. Don't know how to use a multimeter or know what a resistor is? This book is for you. However, if you want to know how to control, say a servo, you only get a brief paragraph telling you what one is. The book seems to do a lot of that--telling you what something does, but not giving you enough information to do something with it.
For most of the book, you get a sense that the author simply looked through an electronics catalog, selected some key parts, and wrote a brief discription of what kinds there are, and what they do. Along the way, he shows how you can use those parts to make a simple robot.
This would be a good book to accompany another more applications-based book (or online site) on electronics (e.g. Radio Shack's Forrest Mimms Enginner's Notebooks, Practical Electronics for Inventors, etc.).
In terms of robotics, unforunately, you get one simple example and that's it. Very frustrating for those who want to make something more than a simple sandwhich box that follows a line. (It's a clever little design, nevertheless).
With all bad things said, I do think the book has positives. It has many helpful hints for selecting parts, tips for prototyping, and is writen in a friendly, easy-to-read style.
For those who know nothing at all about electronics and aren't too interested in robots, but more interested in basic electronics--5 stars. For those who have more than rudimentary knowledge of electronics and looking for a variety of robots projects--1 star.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Robot Book
Review: I found David Cook's book to one of the best robot books out there for 3 reasons. First, David teaches you electronics as you go through the book; and you don't even realize that your learning electronics your just thinking, "I want to know this to build a cool robot." Second, unlike most other robot books, this one is for the beginner and takes the builder all the way through the completion of a single project--a line following robot. Finally, David Cook maintains a website that provides updates to his book and useful links for even more robot building resources. I strongly feel that this shows the author's dedication to encouraging novice robot builders to continue building robots.