Robot Builder's Bonanza, Third Edition (Robot Builder's Bonanza) | 
| Authors: Gordon Mccomb, Myke Predko
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $16.59
You Save: $13.36 (45%)
New (23) Used (14) from $12.04
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 43184
Media: Paperback
Edition: 3
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 733
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.7
ISBN: 0071468935
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.892
EAN: 9780071468930
ASIN: 0071468935
Publication Date: February 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
#1 ROBOTICS BOOK OF ALL TIME SUPER-CHARGED BY A FAMOUS NEW CO-AUTHOR AND UPDATED TO REFLECT STATE-OF-THE-ART ADVANCES Everybody's favorite amateur robotics book is bolder and better than ever -- and now features the field's "grand master" Myke Predko as the new author! Author duo McComb and Predko bring their expertise to this fully-illustrated robotics "bible" to enhance the already incomparable content on how to build -- and have a universe of fun -- with robots. Projects vary in complexity so everyone from novices to advanced hobbyists will find something of interest. NEW TO THIS EDITION: - 30 completely new projects
- All projects have been revamped to be more customizable
- More visual -- illustrations of the final product are right at the beginning of the chapter
Everything you need to build from plans provided or create your own designs:
* Robot Basics * Construction Techniques * Computer and Electronic Control * Power, Motors, and Locomotion * Practical Robotics Projects * Sensors and Navigation * Robot Programming * Tips, Tricks, and Tidbits
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
Survey vs. How to May 29, 2008
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.
 Robot Builder Reference April 5, 2007
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
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.
Interesting and informative March 8, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
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.
 Forget roboreptile, buy this book and build your own robot! December 9, 2006
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
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.
too advanced for me November 28, 2006
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
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.
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