Customer Reviews

The Robosapien Companion: Tips, Tricks, and Hacks (Technology in Action)

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

 

 

There have been numerous specialised books on robotics, going back decades. Almost always from a research perspective, and dealing with once-off custom designs. Yet in the last 2 years, a toy robot, called Robosapien, has proved wonderfully popular in the mass market. Samans shows why Robosapien can be considered more than a toy. Perhaps even a tool for advancing robotics.

The book blends two themes. The predominant one is how to modify your Robosapien. Samans explains the deliberately extensible nature, which appeals to many tinkerers. It is rare, indeed, for a mere toy to be so open. Typically, a toymaker locks down the toy, and might even sue any hacker with the gumption to publicly tweak the toy. But here, Robosapien's maker [WowWee] takes the completely opposite tack. The book documents some of the numerous ways to indulge your tinkering. Notably including using your personal computer as a controller.

But the book also explores another theme. It uses Robosapien as a case study of a different approach to robotics. Designed around BEAM - biology, [analog] electronics, aesthetics and mechanics. The idea is to seek inspiration from biological evolution, since the best ideas may well have been tried out and found successful in nature. Then, these are reimplemented in mechanical form, preferably using analog electronics to control the functions. Instead of having a master CPU that has code to handle every possible contingency, which is impossible.

The first theme turns Robosapien into a seriously cool hacker's dream. The second theme turns the book into somewhat of a textbook, that may well be more persuasive than many robotics tomes.

Honestly I have not finished reading this book, but I have enjoyed every page of it that I decided to give it a well deserved review. Very well written, simple, and enjoyable. This book goes from the very beginning, history and development of the Robosapien, interviews with Mark Tilden (Robosapien creator),from packaging of the robot, tips, tricks, and ways to Hacking it, with lot of black & white pictures of the robot and its internal parts. The book also give a preview of the Robosapien online community with info and resources, and insights for the new Robosapien v2. If you own a Robosapien or going to buy one, you owe this book to yourself.

I bought a RoboSapien about 8 months ago. I tell people that I got it for my kids, but I just couldn't resist it - it looked so cute. Anyway, I played with it for a few hours and then got bored with it. It has spent the last 8 months collecting dust on a shelf.

Yesterday, I happened across this book at B&N and have been reading it ever since. Way to go Jamie! The shell of this thing totally threw me off and I never thought to crack it open. I like the mods you made - very practical and I am strongly considering adding the camera so I can check on my home when I am on vacation - or maybe spy on my kids.

Very good book - easy to read - really cool subject - I highly recommend it.

Having read a number of robotics books, what struck me first was how well structured Robosapien Companion is. This is not simply a collection of hacks and technical tidbits. Rather, it is a companion in the truest sense. Samans deftly follows the full curve of Robosapien's life, starting with Mark Tildens early BEAM endeavors and Robosapien's development, moving to cracking into the box and getting the most from a virgin 'sapien, and rounding it out with basic and advanced hacking techniques.

Two different but alike audiences will enjoy this book. The first are those looking to get more play from the Robosapien toy. The text offers plenty to do. Though I bought my Robosapien to hack, I found myself keeping it in one piece and trying out the programming lessons and "secret" functions. The second audience are those who admire Mark Tilden's work and want to know how he applied it to Robosapien.

Being a member of this last, I found two chapters of particular interest. First, I appreciated the chapter on the development of Robosapien. Samans discusses some of Mark Tilden's design principles and shows how they culminated in a biped at the Telluride workshop. This was, of course, the first Robosapien. Samans goes on to capture the excitement of Robosapien's early days. Next, I enjoyed Chapter 6 on controlling and walking. This showed where Robosapien falls in the spectrum of passive-dynamic machines. Passive-dynamics is a hot topic in robotics circles and Robosapien Companion hints at the potential of using a 'sapien for exploring these ideas

In fact, finishing Robosapien Companion leaves me with an urge to explore all sorts of things with a Robosapien. Samans provides a good framework for such explorations, weaving in commentary from Mark Tilden, expanding upon the ideas, and rounding out with links to the online community. Companion is a good book and I recommend it.

J Wolfgang Goerlich

This is a good book to have for ur robot, has a lot of neat ideas and ways to modify your robosapien and make it that much more fun to play with

Top marks for a well written and informative guide for the young and not so young at heart.

I was very upset when I received this book. This book does not help in the least with your robot. It is more the maker of the robot just cursing and telling about how you can add things to the robot. I wanted to know more about the robot and how I could use him not create a new robot.
If you do not mind cursing and you would like to ADD things to the robots than you may like the book.
You must be interested in building robots.