The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide [Paperback]

Dave Prochnow (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071463097 | ISBN-13: 978-0071463096 | Publication Date: August 17, 2005 | Edition: 1

The Robosapien robot was one of the most popular hobbyist gifts of the 2004 holiday season, selling approximately 1.5 million units at major retail outlets. The brief manual accompanying the robot covered only basic movements and maneuvers -- the robot's real power and potential remain undiscovered by most owners -- until now! This is the official Robosapien guide -- endorsed by WowWee (the manufacturer) and Mark Tilden (the designer). This timely book covers all the possible design additions, programming possibilities, and "hacks" not found anyplace else.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Includes bonus $10 coupon toward your next WowWee robotic purchase! (U.S. and Canada orders only)

"You've owned Robosapien for six months now and you're wondering three things: what's inside, how can I hack it, and can I get college credit for this thing?" -- Mark W. Tilden

TAKE ROBOSAPIEN BEYOND THE LIMIT -- HACK IT!

The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide is a true insider's sourcebook of over one dozen fun, inexpensive, and high-performance hacks that you can perform on the world’s best-selling robot of all time. This manual is fully endorsed by WowWee Ltd., Robosapien's manufacturer, and features an introduction by Mark W. Tilden, Robosapien's designer! You'll learn how to make Robosapien do things you never thought possible.

So if you're ready to make the award-winning Robosapien more appealing, capable, and compelling than it already is, tighten your chin strap and take a look inside. This book gives you --

• Complete, step-by-step illustrated guidance on hacking the "brains" out of Robosapien
• An inside-out "Crack 'n Hack" guide to Robosapien's anatomy
• Full directions on controlling your robot with a Mac or PC
• How to's for converting Robosapien from remote infrared (IR) to remote radio control (RC)
• A candid interview with Mark Tilden, robot designer extraordinare
• Enough handholding to make you think that we ought to be dating
• Instructions on remote programming and wireless surveillance from anywhere within your house
• One of the most complete Robosapien reference guides on Earth
• Some fashion sense on how to make a designer's statement with a new Robosapien wardrobe
• A backstage pass to meet the next generation of robots -- a full preview of V2, RoboRaptor, and RoboPet!

MAXIMIZE YOUR ROBOSAPIEN FUN!

About the Author

Dave Prochnow is a frequent contributor to MacAddict, MAKE, Nuts and Volts, and SERVO Magazine, as well as the award-winning author of 25 nonfiction books including the best-selling Experiments with EPROMs. Dave also won the 2001 Maggie Award for the best how-to article in a consumer magazine. In collaboration with Mark Tilden, Dave has assembled the enormous selection of robot tips, programs, and hacks that are contained in The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide. You can learn more about this book and other robotics/electronics projects at Dave's website, www.pco2go.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 1 edition (August 17, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071463097
• ISBN-13: 978-0071463096
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,574,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thinking About a Science Project?, September 3, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide (Paperback)

With one and a half million Robosapiens sold in the Christmas season last year, this is the largest selling robot of all time. 99% of them will be played with a little, the novelty will wear off, they'll go in the closet with the rest of the old toys. But that other 1%, maybe that many, will be used as the basis for any of a number of other projects. This book shows how to take the basic Robosapien and convert, modify, add a number of alternative features and capabilities to it.

Some of these 'hacks' include, controlling Robosapien from a home computer, adding any or all of several electronic features to Robosapien, adding a different processor to Robosapien. Several of these hacks would make a very good science project for a high schooler, and would even be a pretty good introduction to abeginning class in electronics.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Prefer "The Robosapien Companion: Tips, Tricks, and Hacks" over "The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide", December 26, 2006

By 

WJB (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide (Paperback)

The majority of "The Offical Robosapien Hacker's Guide" is the 11 chapters dedicated to 11 hacks. Some hacks require an additional investment of up to several hundred dollars, while other hacks require small circuits to be built. The author provides circuit diagrams WITHOUT explanations and details of the parts needed, but fails to provide any fundamental Electrical Engineering knowledge. EE 101 students will not have much trouble, but the typical person buying the Robosapien initially as a toy will. My two favorite parts of the book: 1) The $10 WowWee Rebate (expires 12/31/06) towards purchase of a WowWee robot. 2) The chapter dedicated to the disassembly of Robosapien where the author guides you on minimal disassembly for maximum internal exposure. While the author is highly knowledgable in electronics, he is vague and lacks the ability or patience to explain areas in details. The information and presentation of that information is no better than what I would expect to find on someones personal website who was sharing it for fun and not financial gain.

5.0 out of 5 stars review, December 27, 2008

By 

Ross Wilkerson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide (Paperback)

Very good. A must have if you have a Robosapien.

Came very well and carefully packaged.