Customer Reviews

JunkBots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots With BEAM Technology

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is, by far, the best robotics how-to book I've ever read. I've been following the BEAM "movement" from its inception, and Dave Hrynkiw's work for years. This book makes the BEAM approach toward robotics accessible to everyone, from the complete newbie to the more experienced hobbyist.

I was amazed at how well the book was written (it's genuinely funny in spots), and how much attention to detail was evident in clear photos and well-done illustrations. This is a model for how such a book should be done.

There are seven projects in the book, from a simple solar-powered top to a rather sophisticated four-legged insect-like walker. Set-by-step instructions are given for each project, along with process photos and circuit diagrams.

One of the coolest things about BEAMbots is that they're often built from analog electronics scavenged from techno-junk (old solar calculators, Walkman, pagers, modems, etc.). Dave provides info on how to round up this junk and where to go for the parts you can't scrounge.

I think that making some of these little autonomous robo-critters and letting them scuttle and flail around in your office (seeking light, avoiding light, dodging obstacles) would be a great way of flexing your superior geek muscles. Make some of these babies and you'll be the envy of propellerheads everywhere!

Great book for beginners in robotics OR electronics. This book focuses on the minimalist BEAM approach to robotics, as opposed to the full blown combat robots you see on TV. Starts with the real basics, everything from reading resistor color bands (BBROYGBVGW - Bad Boys etc...) to proper soldering techniques. Then it moves on to a series of step-by-step micro-bot builds, generously illustrated with photos and diagrams. If you can't find the parts around the house to build your bots, you can always take the author's dumpster diving tips to heart. I'd recommend this book for anybody who's not afraid of soldering and glue fumes.

As a graphic designer by trade, I dabble in building robots. The BEAM philosophy for building robots is really quite amazing because the focus is on reuse of discarded electronics while striving to make your robots look as asthetically pleasing as possible. The strength of this work is that now everybody may build a robot easily and quickly.

Although this book describes the BEAM technology that was germane in 2002, times have certainly left it behind. Very few of the projects that were contemporaneous with those mentioned in this book are very few still purchasable as complete kits & "dumpster diving" has become definitely a less profitable source of parts since newer consumer products involve substantially less likelihood from which to farm out parts.

With regard to kits, perhaps the worst example of that is at least one product (SunSwinger) shown on one of the Solarbotics catalog pages "has not been available" for at least four years - and it was one of the best they ever produced, exemplifying BEAM at its original peak. Also, it is also truly sad the the "Bicore Experimenter's Board" is no longer available because in ONE legal-sized breadboard there were a huge number of 'mini-breadboards' that could be split out in order to form new and exciting experiments using only the absolutely minimum 'real-estate' required.

These days it is far better to follow the BEAM list on YahooGroups and various blogs - the information covered by the book is often discussed there repeatedly throughout the year and it is the only place whatsoever where any forward progress in BEAM technology is shown. For example, if one were to sample the products being sold by nearly ALL robotics retailers these days, you would see the huge trend toward the current popularity of the use of microcontrollers. BEAM robots DEFINITELY were originally analog devices in the past, but people simply are almost exclusively using digital technology to build their devices now.

Why solder together an unwieldy number of parts and then be required to perform tedious troubleshooting to produce an effect that can be MUCH more easily realized (with greater functionality at that) with a simple, programmable chip that might cost less than $5 US?

So, I've reduced my rating for this book - it is a sufficient introduction for those with little or no electronics background and people with extremely short budgets, but not for anyone who is seriously interested in really getting ahead in the current focus of the field.

I am just investigating BEAM for some physical computing course work and was pleased by the straighforward nature of the examples and explanations of what it takes to make your own "bugbots".
Tilden is the father of this movement and Dave Hrynkiw injects a friendly warm tone to the writing that makes this easy to peruse.
I built the first bot yesterday and had a really great time with the process. I agree with previous posters that some of this is on the internet, but this book is moderately priced and worth having around.

This book is very well done. The photos are phenomenal, the mechanical diagrams are very consice and exact and the subject matter is explained very well. The only reason I give it a 3-star rating is because all of the material is available on the internet for free - although I do like having the book on my shelf. I don't agree that the simple beam technolgy will stand the test of time because what they call a "nervous network" is actual just a simple analog sequence generator and cannot be programmed to allow the robot to do practical work. If you want to have some control over what your robot is going to do, then you need to get a book that explains the use of microcontrollers. Try a book by Myke Predko. Definitely buy this book though!!

I am a senior in high school and have taken many engineering and robotics classes both online and in school. I wouldn't say that those classes would be required to use this book but they surely helped. This book is really good with not only explaining how to make the robot but also the concept of each part of the robot which leads to helping you make other robots on your own in the future.
The thing i didn't like about this book is the fact that some of the components it required (i.e. certain motors and small solar panels) were a little harder to obtain than expected.
Overall I have really enjoyed this and would definitely recommend it to a friend.

i say this is the beginners guide for the robotics world and is very easy to understand i study hi def electronics and the schematics is very easy to understand and no need to understand the schematics because the author take pictures of all of the proses step by step and that make this book great in my opinion i give mi highest recommendation of the world electronics and robotics and in no time if you read this book i said in a week you can make any robot without any electronic knowledge JunkBots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots With BEAM Technology

This is a well written book about small robots, junk bots, etc. Goes step by step on how to build any of the projects, various points of interest, some history, and other good related info. Gives good recommendations on what to look for in collecting parts to build the robots from, and what to avoid, as well as some good safety recomendations.

Dear Amazon Customers,

This book along with the book Insectronics were what got me into robotics. I won't reiterate what I said in that review so you won't be forced to re-read it but all I can say is it was incredibly easy to read and understand. The diagrams within were incredibly easy to understand and very helpful. I could not resist the urge to go ripping apart some old electronics for parts to build new little robot friends.

-Nalek