Rating: 
Summary: Good but watch the errors
Review: As the other reviewers state this is a good book for beginners to learn about the issues and parts of robotic devices. My concern is with the many many errors in the circuits presented in the book. This may lead beginners to frustration and despair. Especially regrettable is that many of these errors were present in the previous version. There really is no excuse for Mr. McComb not to have fixed these as this book is famous all over the Net for this very thing. I urge Mr. McComb to fix the circuit diagrams for the next printing of which I'm sure there will be many and to post an errata page on the Web somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: A source of energy - not solutions!
Review: By profession I'm a Software Engineer
(This is about the second edition)
I borrowed this book at the local library -I'm glad that I didn't buy it!
I was told that my last review suck! I agreed (too much stress) and rewrote...
Generally this book is about reusing/rearranging junk for your robot projects (this may seem like a good idea). The book covers a lot of topics - too fast in most cases and offers you only "1" solution to a problem that if you sat down and think would solve in a completely different manner.
Chapter 40: "Sound output and input" the author simply forgets that he has a uC at his disposal and combines some 555 timer IC's for a siren - indeed software is a more obvious solution.
His final output stage is a lm386 from National that can deliver approx. 0,5w. (this not even a driver stage!)
I occasionally find the components required exotic - this may however be a local problem.
Overall I'm glad that I read this book it is completely stuffed with interesting ideas - I just almost never agree with the given solution.
I was dying to read the chapter on IR communication but it only made use of an ordinary remote control. - The book's program was ONLY about the receiver. Who wants to control their robot with their tv-remote controller.
Of course you want to design your own transmitter! No theory is given so again 'your solution'. I put my tv-remote on a scope and synthesised it using an Atmel uC.
This is what dislike about the book - the lack of theory. It contains tons of ideas but you must learn about it elsewhere.
(Oh my Good, he uses BASIC!)
Rating: 
Summary: A Classic in the making!
Review: Gordon has outdone himself with this new edition of RBB. This is probabaly one of the most encompassing books on robotics ever. In these 750 pages, he has managed to include an in-depth coverage of almost all aspects of robotics including electonics, mechanical construction, programming, interfacing to all types of sensors, the use of the most popular motors, and very many of the microcontrollers available for robot brains. This book brings so much information together in one volume, that it makes the job of a potential robot builder vastly easier. For the newcommer to the field, there is much food for thought here. He covers much of the basics needed to get started and pulls together such a wealth of information that would otherwise take a lot of work to find (such as how to use hobby servos, how to modify them for continuous rotation, how to hack cheap Polaroid camera to use the sonar module for range measurements, etc.). If you can't find it here, you probably don't need it! For the more experienced builders, this should be a valuable reference and save you from having to search through a half dozen books to find some details of a particular sensor, construction technique, or microcontroller. Did I mention the price? This is an incredible buy! There is a lot of work and research invested in this book and anyone with a serious interest in robotics would be a fool not to own it. Look over the table of contents to get a sample of the breadth of coverage. The appendices also have a lot of useful resources such as additional books, sources for parts and Internet links. There should be a lot more little robot critters out there with the publication of this great book!
Rating: 
Summary: Robotics start guide
Review: Great start in robotics, with simple and good examples.
Rating:
Summary: Superb introduction
Review: I am a robotics researcher, currently pursuing my PhD and working as the director of a community-based iniative offering free courses to the general public at all levels. This is one of only two books I recommend to our students, and I can't recommend it highly enough. The coverage of the material is balanced and well-presented, and more than this, it is genuinely exciting; it is this that will rub off on the reader. It is above all a "can-do" book, and will encourage readers who are new to the field to actually have a go at building their own robot. If you are a young beginner in robotics, or a cynical old professional in the field nearing retirement, this book will do much to inspire you.
Rating:
Summary: On Building Robots
Review: I am an electrical engineering undergraduate at UC San Diego, and I decided to build a small robot recently, so the first source I came to was this book. I bought it over Amazon and received it a few days later. After reading through the book I decided that it was very helpful for beginners, but intermediate and expert robot builders would probably find it less helpful. It really does a fine job of telling you where to get started and a myriad of places to get what you need. The book goes through many key points on construction, both in mechanical and electrical aspects, that I would have otherwise not known. If you're a beginner BUY THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Great beginning in spite of small errors
Review: I am brand new to the world of amatuer robotics, and this was an excellent first book for me to read. By the time I finished reading the book, I knew where to begin with my initial design, and I had several sources of parts. It took from zero to 80%. There are several small errors in the book, but none of them are show stoppers. The only flaws in the book were the same problems with any survey book. The examples tended to show only one way to address an issue, some of the plans lacked enough detail, and some important topics were glossed right over. However, this did not detract from what I gained from the book. If you are serious about trying to build your own robot, start here. By the time you finish with this book, you will be ready for more advanced topics.
Rating:
Summary: Must have for robot hobbyists!
Review: I bought the first edition some eight years ago, and thought that was pretty good. Since then I've amassed several books on robotics and this second edition is by far my favourite. It contains a tremendous amount of information on using of the shelf products like the 'Stamp' and 'OOPIC' processors and covers a lot of the present day sensors and how to use them with code samples. I especially like the section on beginning electronics, a boon to experimenters who haven't taken electronics classes and a great review for those who have. Great job on this new edition! Mark Weston King City, Ontario, Canada
Rating: 
Summary: They say its for amateurs but NO where near
Review: I read through all the reviews. I thought it would be a great start. If u dont have at least and decent understanding in electronics you'll have no idea what happening. it talks about how to do electronics for there projects and not how to apply them to any other project. So if u want to learn ne thing buy a different book
Rating:
Summary: A great update to a classic book.
Review: I remember reading the first edition of the book and feeling disappointed, because this book showed you the various robot products that you could by, it really wasn't a tutorial that showed you how to complete a single robot from step one to finish. In many respects the second edition is written in much the same vain as the first edition. It's better to get this book if your an intermediate robot builder. There are some many reasons why this is a good robot book, so here are three of them. First it gets you thinking and about building robots motivated me by the descriptions, second it tells you which kits or products are on the market, and finally
there are snippets of essential circuit board schematics.
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