Customer Reviews

Robot Builder's Bonanza, Third Edition

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This is the big book on robots. In its third edition, it is more than seven hundred pages of information. This information basically includes virtually everything there is to know about modern robotics from converting a toy into a working robot to fairly fancy electronics that handle functions like speech (systhesis and recognition) eyes, collision detection and avoidance through the computer programming that will be required to tie everything together and make it work.

The book is aimed at the robot experimenter. This could be at any level from the individual working in his basement to the student wanting a neat project for the science fair, and even up to the more advanced experimenter who may have great knowledge in one area but needs to know about other areas to be more complete in his knowledge.

If you're going to buy one Robot book, this is the one.

Why spend a lot of money on this year's big thing in robots - Roboreptile - and wind up with something that can only do a few basic commands and then falls over? Instead, buy this book, and you and your child can bond while building your own robots.

This is a very healthy update to the 2nd edition, and makes it well worth your while to purchase, read, and use as a reference book. The third edition has been updated to show most of the latest technologies that robot builders have been using. Gordon has done a very good job at organizing a wide variety of current information into his book, and Myke Predko is a welcome addition to the authoring team, bringing with him is vast knowledge of microcontrollers.

This book covers much of the basics of building robots, such as electronics, motors and motor control. There are plenty of diagrams, schematics, and details on the basics of building robots. There is even quite a bit of source code, and instructions on where to find and buy supplies for the projects outlined in the book. There are experiments with range finding, sound, ultrasonics, infrared, and a host of other popular technologies.

The first four parts of the book are on the technologies and skills needed to build robots, but part five gives you some sample robots to build where you can apply your knowledge. This includes a roverbot, a walking robot, and robots with arms that have gripping capabilities. The final sections of the book cover more advanced topics such as navigation, sensor integration, object detection, speech synthesis, and even computer vision. It's a great source for complete instructions unlike many other hastily constructed books on the subject that omit individual robot construction steps or get them wrong entirely. I highly recommend it for the budding robot building enthusiast.

I read the first 80 pages of this book at B&N, and I was overwhelmed by the amount of information. This book is not for beginners who are only somewhat interested in robotics. You have to make an effort with this book. But if you're looking to make science-fair quality projects or impress MIT, this book can't be beat.

I enjoy the 3rd edition of this book. What it does well is that it breaks up the problem of building a robot into multiple sections in which builders get ideas on what to change for their robots. This includes changes in anything from what sensors to use to recommendations and ideas about building your own chassis from wood to plastic to well, whatever. It also gives you a nice reference to places to get parts and also references to other books to get even more information on individual topics. It doesn't really get into the level that other McComb books did such as the Lasers, Ray Guns, and Light Cannons: Projects from the Wizard's Workbench by Gordon McComb - it instead just briefly surveys a great many topics across a very very wide spectrum of possibilities. It's great for ideas- but it seems to lack a bit of a universal thread such as a representative building example that goes through the whole design process. But then again, it's not an engineering textbook... it's a bonanza.

A good way to describe this book is a cross between a textbook, a trade journal, and a catalog. Being definately a large volume, it attempts to cover a lot of information in bite sized chapters. I would think the best use for this book is as a reference. You can build some of the projects listed in it as stand alone applications, but they work best when combining them with your own ideas, or supplementing info from other book projects.

All in all, this book is a good addition to a robot reference library.

I'm a old guy who has recently developed an interest in Robots. I knew just enough to be dangerous! I wanted to learn all I could as quickly as I could (OK...I'm an impatient old guy) so I bought this book along with "Building Robot Drive Trains" by Dennis Clark. These two books are a wonderful pair for the Newbie robot builder!
"Bonanza" covers every aspect of designing, building, and testing your robot creations. You learn about locomotion, sensors, programming, hardware, connectors, and controllers. Multi-legged and humanoid robots are covered. Servos, stepper motors, and DC motors are covered. Scavenging parts from printers, other robot toys, and yard sales is covered. A very thorough introduction for rookies!!
The presentation is interesting: the author suggests that you jump around in the book by listing other chapters that are related to the chapter you just finished. However that leads to the only fault I have with this book: its organization is chaotic, to say the least. I found myself searching the Table of Contents and Index very often!
On the other hand, this makes it an excellent reference after you have some robotics experience under your belt.
I suggest that those interested in learning about robots buy this book, read it more than once, then join a robotics club...locally, if possible, but at least an online club.
I recommend this book highly for newbies and experienced roboticists alike!

I find this a great book with specific and deep knoledge, I recomend it strongly

This was a very good read but it requires knowledge in electronics. I know some basic electronics but some concepts were a little over my head. But I still enjoyed reading it.

This is a good reference book for beginning robot builders. However, if you are really interested in getting started then invest the money into a cheap kit like Parallax's Basic Stamp2. Then move up to one of their robotics kits to get a hands on feel.

This is a great book for introducing the novice to robot making. Even for me, a EE graduate, the introduction of basic electronic components was a nice refresher.