Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots (ExtremeTech) 1st Edition

by Grant Imahara (Author)

12 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0764541131

ISBN-10: 0764541137

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Enter the arena of the metal gladiators

Do you have what it takes to build a battle-ready robot? You do now. Here are the plans, step-by-step directions, and expert advice that will put you in competition-while you have a heck of a lot of fun getting there.

Grant Imahara, the creator of the popular BattleBot Deadblow, shares everything he’s learned about robot design, tools and techniques for metal working, the parts you need and where to get them, and plenty of tips to keep you off the ropes. When you’re finished, you’ll be ready to rumble.

Just a few of the topics you'll learn:

Robot design 101
Chemicals and power tools
Popular materials compared
Cutting your armor
Things to know about screws
Top ten drive motors
Bearings, casters, couplers, and U-joints
Roller chains and sprockets
Better traction through chemistry
Choosing speeding controls
Batteries and wiring
The driving test
Rammers, hammers and crushers

Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots (ExtremeTech)

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Enter the arena of the metal gladiators

Just a few of the topics you'll learn:

Robot design 101
Chemicals and power tools
Popular materials compared
Cutting your armor
Things to know about screws
Top ten drive motors
Bearings, casters, couplers, and U-joints
Roller chains and sprockets
Better traction through chemistry
Choosing speeding controls
Batteries and wiring
The driving test
Rammers, hammers and crushers

About the Author

Grant Imahara is an animatronics engineer and modelmaker for George Lucas’s Industrial Light & Magic in Marin County, California. He specializes in electronics and radio control at the ILM Model Shop, and has credits on numerous movies, including Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, Galaxy Quest, AI: Artificial Intelligence, Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and most recently, Matrix: Reloaded and Revolutions.
He has installed electronics in R2-D2 units for Star Wars Episodes I and II, replacing the halogen light source and rotating color wheel (for the sparkly lights) with a custom microcontroller-based LED circuit that was originally created to make the pulsating lights for the main engines of the Protector, from Galaxy Quest. He also upgraded all of the radio equipment and speed controls to modern standards. Along with R2-D2 Crew Chief Don Bies and Nelson Hall, he is one of only three official R2-D2 operators in the United States.
Grant developed a custom circuit to cycle the Energizer Bunny’s arm beats and ears at a constant rate. He performed all electronics installation and radio programming on the current generation of Bunnies. He later became the Bunny’s driver and the crew supervisor on numerous commercials.
Grant has a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. He picked up his mechanical skills from the machinists at the ILM Model Shop, many of whom date back to Howard the Duck (1986).
For fun, Grant competes in BattleBots with his robot Deadblow, which set a record for most number of hits in the first season of the show. Grant lives in a loft in Oakland, California, where he works on his robot and pursues other projects in his spare time.

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Product Details

Series: ExtremeTech (Book 2)
Paperback: 528 pages
Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 5, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764541137
ISBN-13: 978-0764541131
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.1 x 9.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,219,266 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #604 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Robotics
- #921 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems > Robotics & Automation
- #3345 in Books > Computers & Technology > Hardware & DIY

Customer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars

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Top Customer Reviews

Beautiful Illustrations

ByA customeron December 5, 2003

Format: Paperback

I knew of the author from watching BattleBots on TV (he built Deadblow [...]) so I pre-ordered this before it even came out.
The thing that sets this one apart from some of the other books is the illustrations - they are absolutely beautiful, and really add to the clarity and readability of the book, although I wish they were in color.
Regardless, this is a brilliant book on robotics. I imagine this is a great place to start if you are just getting into robots, and if you are like me and know some basics after building a few kits, this is a great guide to doing it all from scratch. It provides a great deal of detail, and I'll bet that even veterans are sure to pick up a few tricks here and there.

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Well written and easy to understand

ByAlan Richardson December 5, 2003

Format: Paperback

Just getting started with robots, and this is my first book on building them. I chose this one because I eventually want to build a battlebot, although I plan to just start with a basic bot.
So far this is exactly what I wanted. It is very easy to understand, the directions are clear and easy to follow, and the drawings are absolutely killer.
Very well done, and highly recommended.

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Best book on building robots

ByAmazon Customeron February 16, 2004

Format: Paperback

This book is one of the best I have bought so far. Those of you just getting started on building robot will be especially pleased about the countless tips on the correct way to use tools and construction techniques etc. The huge number of illustrations is a welcomed bonus.
The section on choosing a Remote Control is very informative.
If you are hoping for sections on electronics, programming or building your own parts for the electrical/electronic components you will be very dissapointed as all the parts used are off the shelf.
You might want to supplement this book with Amphibionics and Insectronics by Karl Williams which has good sections of programming and electronics.
No book is perfect but if you want to build a REAL fighting robot this is the best book around and I'm saying this after having bought most of the popular ones around.

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Great book for beginniners

ByHenry Mundstockon July 10, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Good general overview and introduction to the basics of the sport. It does in fact hand out basic advice like what tools you'll need and how to use a drill press. General design and tactical advice, basic electronics, basic metalworking, practical robot handling. The best introduction to pneumatic systems I've seen. Good place to start from if you don't already know what you're doing. Advanced skills such as learning to weld or how to fabricate your own electronics are beyond the scope of this book.

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11 year old loves it!

Bystogneron May 4, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

My son asked for this for his 11th birthday. We purchased a used copy that was shipped quickly in near new condition. It is a 500+ pg textbook format. He stayed up until 11 pm last night reading it and says it is awesome! He has already read 50 pages. Thanks for making his birthday great!

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Complete and well worth the money

BySteel Artiston January 7, 2012

Format: Paperback

I do not have a interest in building Battlebots, but I do like knowing how things are done hence the reason I got the book. It is very informative,and much of the content can be applied to machining as well-making it to where it exceeded my expectations since machining is one of my interests. Large machining tools isn't necessary though and this book covers the use of smaller tools such as jigsaws, hacksaws,drill presses, etc as well.

In addition to the basics-it has extra sections related to more advanced subjects such as R/C programming, pneumatics, etc.

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Outstanding robot construction book

ByDaveon May 21, 2004

Format: Paperback

The other reviewers have already written about how great the illustrations are in this book, about the author's ability to clearly explain some fairly difficult tasks, and about the author's Battlebots record. They're right on all counts, and this is an excellent book.
The book covers every step you need, from design to materials purchasing to making armor/speed tradeoffs. Here's the table of contents from my copy of the book:
Chapter 1: Getting Started.
Chapter 2: Designing the Robot.
Chapter 3: Tools of the Trade.
Chapter 4: Selecting Materials.
Chapter 5: Cutting Metal.
Chapter 6: Shaping and Finishing Metal.
Chapter 7: Drilling and Tapping Holes.
Chapter 8: Fasteners-Holding It All Together.
Chapter 9: Selecting Drive Motors.
Chapter 10: Mechanical Building Blocks.
Chapter 11:Working with Roller Chain and Sprockets.
Chapter 12: Let's Get Rolling.
Chapter 13: Choosing Your Control System.
Chapter 14: Choosing Speed Controls.
Chapter 15: Choosing Batteries.
Chapter 16:Wiring the Electrical System.
Chapter 17: The First Test Drive.
Chapter 18: Choose Your Weapon.
Chapter 19: Troubleshooting.
Chapter 20: Going to a Competition.
Appendix A: Advanced R/C Programming.
Appendix B: IFI System Programming and Troubleshooting.
Appendix C: Pneumatics.
Appendix D: Online Resources.
Appendix E: Catalogs.
Appendix F: Tables and Charts.