Customer Reviews

Robots, Androids and Animatrons, Second Edition : 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you are looking for a comprehensive yet easily understood review and guide to robotics, this is a perfect book. After an introduction and history, the author discusses the primary elements of robots: power, drives and sensors. Then he explains one of the central topics in hobby robotics: neural networks. Iovine does an excellent job of contrasting this type of robot with more traditional types, and in doing so can save the novice many hours of research. The remaining chapters are devoted to specific types of robots--everything from battery powered "walkers" and solar-bots, to underwater and blimp-like devices. He also describes robotic arms, how to control robots with computers, and finally, how to construct an android hand! For all of these projects, Iovine provides schematic electrical diagrams and directions for construction.

This is indeed a terrific summary and guide to the fascinating field of hobby robotics.

Robots, Androids and Animatrons covers a lot of bases. It provides tantalizing information and commentary on technology currently under development and envisioned for the coming few decades. The text is clear, and the projects are straightforward, creative and interesting. Iovine provides a taste of a variety of technologies, and ideas about where to go for additional, related information outside the scope of the book. This is not the consummate 'bot hobbyist's manual that McComb's Robot Builder's Bonanza is, but it will make a valuable addition to many an enthusiast's library. The style of the text is geared toward younger and less experienced readers. For example, Iovine discusses the BASIC Stamp, and does not discuss any other microcontrollers. He does not go into much detail or depth on any particular topic. I'd say that Iovine's audience is probably best represented by scientifically-inclined high-school students. However, there is an interesting section on employing DTMF (touch-tone dialing) for remote control which I think would tickle the fancy of any hobbyist. There are also sections on speech control, telepresence, pneumatics, and a robotic fish that contain information I haven't seen duplicated elsewhere. Not all of Iovine's projects are cheap. Some of the required parts are a little exotic, and may only be available through Images Company, to which John constantly refers. Readers seeking less expensive or alternative sources may have to get creative. But this is a minor inconvenience. Robotics isn't a cheap hobby, exotic parts are sometimes unavoidable, and Iovine's projects are super neat. His book is interesting and worthwhile.

This book is good for someone who has some electronic experience and seems to be geared toward a beginner in robotics (Not electronics).This book requires you know basic electronic components and gives a good platform to begin building robots. Not all the projects in this book are cheap and do require the purchase of the BASIC Stamp but the basic stamp is an important tool in building more complex robots as a person progresses into robotics.Overall it was well worth the money.

If you have some electronics experience and basic hand tools, this is a good source of robot building information. Most of the material deals with building robots to mimic living creatures such as insects, using both discrete circuits and microprocessors.

I received alot of insight into building this type of robot, but was disappointed by the abundance of typos and errors in the circuit diagrams. Looks like they got in a bit of a hurry to get it to press.

The title says robots you can build, yeah this is true if you are an engineer. The projects are not cheap either, almost all require a basic board, which is about $150 . It does give you a list of the parts and there price, but it doesn't say where to buy them from. All it lists is the name and the address of a company, that I think the author must work for. It is good in that it has an interesting few chapters on AI, robots now and in the future, which are very intriguing. I can only recommend this book to those that have deep pockets and know how to read schematics. If you don't have either, then I suggest you wait for the programable leggo robots to come out this Christmas.

The illustrations and text I found to be very helpful for a project I was working on, but the supplies the book recommends can usually de difficult to find, and can tend to be a bit pricy.
I recommend visiting a local toy store after deciding on a project, and buying toys with the parts you need. Its more fun to make one thing into another anyway.

This isn't a "hands-on" projects book as the title would suggest. Poorly written. Useless. I could summarize each chapter as such: "Ok, go buy a RC car, buy some components, attach the components to the car... and you're done. You have a robot! Isn't that cool?" Sheesh. What a waste of paper. I just bought Robot Builder's Bonanza. I've heard good things about that book - so I'll give that a try now. It certainly can't be any worse than John Iovine's book. Buyer beware on "Robots, Androids, and Animatrons".

This book is great for people that have some background in engineering. Beginners will find some of the projects to be really hard, though with some more research and the right tools are easily accomplished. I like the book!

I found this book informative. It teaches much about the state of robotics and robot technology. You can find many useful circuits that can be added to your own applications. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in robotics.

This book covers a LOT of topics, which makes it a good intro for the novice. For those who have built basic robots, or with similar experience, it's kind of a teaser - there are several pictures of interesting robots with no explanation of how they work or what they do. There are buzzwords like 'neural nets' but no real applications beyond simple light-searching logic. Still, I think this book is a great value, because of its low price and wide span of topics. It's got just enough detail to get a high-school student to build his first 'bot, and includes good pictures and illustrations. I recommend it as a gift to any inquisitive, creative mind.