Robot Building for Beginners

Rating:
Summary: Got me started!
Review: I have been trying to learn electronics but don't know where
to get started. This book has been the best tutor that I have had. From a total non-electronics background, I can understand basic electronics now as well as how to build a simple robot. So far it has been exciting! Many thanks to david for his wonderful book. Worth every cent I spent!

Rating:
Summary: The best intro to robot building you are likely to find
Review: I thought this was a terrific book for people getting their feet wet in robot building. Cook has a very engaging style that makes the book very readable. Instead of reading several different books in order to build a robot, I found this book covered all the material in one place that could get you started on robot building.

Another nice feature of the book is that is peppered with high quality photographs of components and parts that are used to build a robot. This completely takes the guesswork out of the process of robot making.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book for the Beginning to Intermediate robot builder
Review: I wish I would have had this book when I started out! The author has made a large complex subject very easy to digest with a variety of chapters on each possible subject.

As the title implies, this is a book intended for "Beginners". You won't find advanced path-finding algorithms nor will you find advanced distance sensor building. It's about _beginning_ robotics. But that doesn't keep some serious electronics theory from getting put into the book. There is plenty of in depth explanations of transistors, comparators, LEDs and other useful components for the robot builder. I learned several useful "rules of thumb" about choosing resistors that I didn't know before opening this book.

I particularly like the concept of this book being an instruction manual for building a robot. If you are a beginner, you can have a reasonably "intelligent" line following robot built by the end of the book that uses many of the mechanical, electrical and logical concepts introduced in each chapter.

Unlike several other books out there, the author isn't selling you a kit at the end of the book, which I liked. Mr. Cook also gives you the source for each part he uses and its respective part number. This is immensely helpful if you would like to build the robot in the book since you can easily obtain each part needed.

In sum, this book is a great value and a great text for the robotics community! Thank you David Cook!

Rating:
Summary: Awesome book for begining "robotists"
Review: I would give Mr. Cook's book 6 stars if I could. It blew me away. It provides excellent diagrams, pictures, and ideas, as well as manufacturers and part numbers for all of the neccessary components. It assumes no background whatsoever in electronics or robotics.

Electronics have always piqued my interest, though I have never really been able to get into them. Some of the books I have bought previously have been absurdly complicated, requiring backgrounds in fields such as linear calculus. I have a head for numbers, but being only a high school freshmen taking Geometry can be limiting.

Robot Building for Beginners really brings the art of constructing autonomous creations down to the basic, hands on level. It starts with the basics, down to what one's workspace should include, etc. You won't find any cryptic series of equations, graphs, or complex diagrams in this book. All of the electrical components are explained on a "what-they-do and how-to-use-them" basis.

For instance, I picked up another book, Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics, and attempted to teach myself about simple things like how a circuit works, and what resistors do. The book immediatly overwhelmed me with so-and-so's laws, this rule of physics, this logarithmic equation, etc.

Mr. Cook's book , on the other hand, explained resistors simply, essentially saying that they were devices to limit the amount of current to a place in the circuit, because too much current simply fries your components. No fancy equations, no graphs, just simple - like it is.

It is for all of the above reasons that I highly recomend this book to anyone who's ever considered dabbeling in electronics (for robots or not).

Rating:
Summary: I just built my first robot!!!
Review: I'm an Electrical Engineer at U.C. I bought this book so I could learn some "real world knowledge" about the physical world instead of just theory. I only asked for (and thankfully received) a multimeter, soldering iron, and a cordless dremel drill for Christmas. After reading this book, I now remember why I chose my major--making a robot is a blast!

Being strong on the theory, I didn't learn anything in that regard. On the flip side, David Cook described the basics in a way that anyone could understand. What I really wanted to learn was to be able to put my Christmas presents to use. He spent a chapter just on the multimeter! I loved it. Also, every part of the robot was described in detail. I now know the difference between choosing motors, batteries, transistors, comparitors, diodes, potentiometers, photo-resistors, ect.

When I brought my first creation into my Electromagnetics class yesterday, I of course was asked to give a demonstration. From reading this book (to be honest a total of 3 times), I described everything about it in clear/consise detail. The only part I failed was receiving extra credit. Yes I did try :D.

I couldn't imagine a better book for beginners. There is a website that describes the robot AND the few typos caught (nothing that mattered), ways he took this idea and added a couple more in a similar project, as well as detailing the post construction of robots he's made since then. Cook goes into detail for troubleshooting a potential screw up you may make (If 'X' is happening then you probably did 'Y'). Yes I made one too--thanks for asking.

There is one part I didn't like about the project though--using an M&M's Mini tube to hold the motors. Being so close to Valentine's day, the only selection they had were PINK ones! Oh well, I named in Valentino anyway. I did find myself telling this story though to everyone that commented on my pink robot.

If you want to get into the hobby, buy this book. You can't ask for more. Just be prepared to catch yourself looking in the toy section of Target for lego technic tires when your fiance is wanting to register!!! BTW: you'll also catch yourself babbling on about your experiences in a review about this book too--cause you'll be so D@MN excited about making your first robot!!!

Rating:
Summary: I just built my first robot!!!
Review: I'm an Electrical Engineer at U.C. I bought this book so I could learn some "real world knowledge" about the physical world instead of just theory. I only asked for (and thankfully received) a multimeter, soldering iron, and a cordless dremel drill for Christmas. After reading this book, I now remember why I chose my major--making a robot is a blast!

Being strong on the theory, I didn't learn anything in that regard. On the flip side, David Cook described the basics in a way that anyone could understand. What I really wanted to learn was to be able to put my Christmas presents to use. He spent a chapter just on the multimeter! I loved it. Also, every part of the robot was described in detail. I now know the difference between choosing motors, batteries, transistors, comparitors, diodes, potentiometers, photo-resistors, ect.

When I brought my first creation into my Electromagnetics class yesterday, I of course was asked to give a demonstration. From reading this book (to be honest a total of 3 times), I described everything about it in clear/consise detail. The only part I failed was receiving extra credit. Yes I did try :D.

I couldn't imagine a better book for beginners. There is a website that describes the robot AND the few typos caught (nothing that mattered), ways he took this idea and added a couple more in a similar project, as well as detailing the post construction of robots he's made since then. Cook goes into detail for troubleshooting a potential screw up you may make (If 'X' is happening then you probably did 'Y'). Yes I made one too--thanks for asking.

There is one part I didn't like about the project though--using an M&M's Mini tube to hold the motors. Being so close to Valentine's day, the only selection they had were PINK ones! Oh well, I named in Valentino anyway. I did find myself telling this story though to everyone that commented on my pink robot.

If you want to get into the hobby, buy this book. You can't ask for more. Just be prepared to catch yourself looking in the toy section of Target for lego technic tires when your fiance is wanting to register!!! BTW: you'll also catch yourself babbling on about your experiences in a review about this book too--cause you'll be so D@MN excited about making your first robot!!!

Rating:
Summary: He wrote a 2nd Book!!!
Review: I've been sitting around here waiting to see my review show up that I just wrote (no luck yet) and went back to David Cook's website to look at his other robots again. MY WISH CAME TRUE--HE WROTE ANOTHER BOOK! For those of you returning to look at this book's reviews again, check out: http://www.robotroom.com/IRB.html I really am excited. To those of you who haven't made the sandwhich yet, you can check this project out on that site too.

Unfortunately, it doesn't come out until April. I preordered it regardless. Question: does anyone know of a good BEAM technology book? A book about nothing but BEAM. I can't find a good book dedicated to it on Amazon. I found a couple websites, but prefer a book to read away from the computer. If so, could you email me at [e-mail]? I'd be thankful.

Rating:
Summary: Robot Building for Beginners
Review: Robot Building for Beginners - What a great beginners book!
When I ordered this book I wasn't too sure about what I was going to get but I did know that the author's web site www.robotroom.com is a robot builders paradise, so what the heck. What a great book!!!!! This book covers so much material based on early electronic theory, concepts, components, and breadboard configurations that you feel like you are sitting in an electronics class just soaking it all up! His text is broken into major sections covering electronic basics, equipment you will need to use, then he talks about the major components that will be used in the sandwich project "A line following robot". He lets you build each section of the robot in modules on an electric breadboard, which is great because you can see the circuit work, plus learn how the circuit functions, and make modifications to the circuit while not having to solder or unsolder components. He steps you through each section of the line following robot building each modules in order till you have the whole robot circuitry on the breadboard for testing. Later he shows you have to make the final robot product and put everything together soldered on a single circuit board. There is truly so much information here that the readers get way more than he pays for. It is easy to understand and humorous at the same time. He even covers calculations concerning voltage drops, load drops within the circuit, and power consumption. By the end of this book you will have completed the building of a real, authentic line following robot and have the knowledge to go onto bigger and better robot projects. After this book I recommend buying the Intermediate Robot builder book!! This is another great book from David Cook!

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Robot Building for Beginners fills a vital gap between LEGO MindStorms and microcontroller-based robots. Many of the robots in other books are so complicated that they're too overwhelming to get started or too lame to bother. This book has excellent, easy-to-follow instructions with lots of photographs. +++++

Rating:
Summary: Exciting and Clever!
Review: The author, David Cook, naturally steps inexperienced readers through the robot building process. A lot of books unsuccessfully assume you already know something about electronics, or expect you to go buy a different book to learn how. Instead, this book alone informs the reader about each step and part necessary, from electronics, to mechanics, to aesthetics, through testing.

Another thing I like about the book is that it encourages readers to make their own robot from scratch out of commonly available parts. Unlike the low-quality kits (from which you learn nothing) being hoisted upon budding scientists, the robot presented in this book really becomes the reader's creation.

A practical and useful feature of the book is that each circuit is first shown as a schematic (or wiring diagram) and then a labeled photograph on a solderless breadboard. It makes it simple for me to reproduce the circuit on my board by counting the holes or comparing locations to the photographs in the book.

A terrific book!