Programming Robot Controllers (Paperback)

by Myke Predko (Author), Myke Predko (Author) "When I was planning this book, I did an informal survey of over 360 autonomously controlled mobile robots that were published on the Internet to..." (more)
Key Phrases: biologic code, code protection off, msec interrupt, Microcontroller Connections, Power Up Timer, Watchdog Timer Off (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Often overlooked at the initial design stage is how the robot will be controlled. Predko addresses everything the enthusiast needs to fill in the gaps. However, some prior programming and electronic knowledge is assumed. The CD-ROM includes HTML links and source code for sample applications. -- Review

Review
Often overlooked at the initial design stage is how the robot will be controlled. Predko addresses everything the enthusiast needs to fill in the gaps. However, some prior programming and electronic knowledge is assumed. The CD-ROM includes HTML links and source code for sample applications. (Library Journal )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 1 edition (August 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071408517
• ISBN-13: 978-0071408516
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #422,689 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not relevent to robotics!!, August 29, 2004

By	going back to cali (cali) - See all my reviews

This guy should stick to writing about microcontrollers because there isn't much about robotics in this book!! For example: by the time you get to page 170 the project is how to flash an LED - dear god help me - I buy a book about robotics and he's got 170 pages of filler leading up to what? To flash an LED??? The C code is junior at best - obfuscated spaghetti code and his patronizing egotistical comments drive us crazy. And again, I just love all of the author written drivel reviews with 5 stars - predkos cramped writting style is recognizable anywhere. BTW by the time you get to page 358 he talks about neural nets and the only single line of code he has to offer as an example is this: Outputs = f(Inputs); you gotta be kidding me!!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for interfacing sensors, November 6, 2002

By	Brian Culver "bculver13" (Humble, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Myke focuses on interfacing sensors to PIC's. His focus lies primarily on the PIC16F627/84. This book has been instrumental in helping me quickly interface my robots sensors, and specially test them quickly. I am a software programmer so it made my life easier. The CD which accompanies it contains the book's code examples, a great interactive interface, PIC tools (compilers, etc.), documentation, and more. I am impressed with Myke's work so far. Thanks Myke.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OK guys, let's get some perspective here. , March 4, 2006

By	A Reviewer "from California" (Los Angeles County, CA) - See all my reviews

Myke Predko is one of my favorite authors. There are a lot of beginners baffled and confused with the information presented, because his books are not written for the inexperienced, although beginners will benefit greatly from the information presented. He will take complex subject matter and condense it down into a few pages. He will simplify complex topics in such a way that it will save you hundreds of hours of time searching through large numbers of other books trying to get a grasp on complex subject matter normally covered through many pages and many chapters of Engineering text. His writing is a short cut to success. He has made my career possible, during difficult times, when jobs were in short supply. His knowledge in part has become my knowledge, and it has provided for me valuable career opportunities that I otherwise would not have had. I will be forever grateful for all the shared wealth of information provided in his books. Most people with this kind of guru knowledge are not willing to share there secrets with the rest of us. Myke Predko shares freely his vast amount of practical knowledge and experience, through his books, which are very reasonably priced, much lower than you would normally expect to pay for a college textbook, and his books are at least 10 to 100 times more valuable.