Robot Building For Dummies

by Arrick, Roger; Stevenson, Nancy

• ISBN13: 9780764540691
• ISBN10: 0764540696
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-10
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Discover what robots can do and how they work Find out how to build your own robot and program it to perform tasks Ready to enter the robot world? This book is your passport! It walks you through building your very own little metal assistant from a kit, dressing it up, giving it a brain, programming it to do things, even making it talk. Along the way, you'll gather some tidbits about robot history, enthusiasts' groups, and more. The Dummies Way * Explanations in plain English * "Get in, get out" information * Icons and other navigational aids * Tear-out cheat sheet * Top ten lists * A dash of humor and fun

Author Biography

Roger Arrick is president and founder of Arrick Robotics, a maker of PC-based motion control systems for a variety of scientific applications. Robot building is his hobby and his passion.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
About This Book	p. 1
Conventions Used in This Book	p. 1
What You're Not to Read	p. 2
Foolish Assumptions	p. 2
How This Book Is Organized	p. 3
Icons Used in This Book	p. 5
Where to Go from Here	p. 6
Getting Started with Robotics	p. 7
So, You Want to Build a Robot?	p. 9
The Robotics Revolution	p. 10
Robot Uses	p. 12
Plotting a Path	p. 15
Starting with a Kit	p. 15
Selecting a Robot Kit	p. 16
Moving Up to Robot Construction Sets	p. 24
Building a Robot from Scratch	p. 25
Economics and Time Considerations	p. 28
Building Your First Robot	p. 31
Robot Kit to the Rescue	p. 31
On Your Mark, Get Set	p. 32
Let the Building Begin	p. 36
Testing and Troubleshooting	p. 38
Soccer Jr. in Action	p. 40
Learning Your Robot Chops	p. 42
Baby Robot Steps	p. 48
Programmable Robot Prep	p. 49
Setting Up Your Robot Workshop	p. 51
Creating an Ideal Work Area	p. 51
Getting Organized	p. 53
Tool Time	p. 54
How to Solder	p. 62
Anti-Static Considerations: Can't Touch This!	p. 66
A Robot Library	p. 68
The Nuts and Bolts of Robot Building	p. 71
Pieces and Parts	p. 71
What's It All Made Of?	p. 72
Nuts and Bolts	p. 74
Motors for Locomotion	p. 75
Making Sense of Sensors	p. 82
Electronics Primer	p. 83
Power to the Robots	p. 94
A Programming Primer	p. 99
Software and Computers	p. 99
Anatomy of a Program	p. 102
Useful Code Snippets	p. 105
Useful Subroutines	p. 107
Okay, I Programmed ... Now What?	p. 110
Building a Programmable Robot	p. 111
Preparing to Build a Programmable Robot	p. 113
Robot Components Overview	p. 114
Assembly Process Overview	p. 117
Organizing and Prepping the Parts	p. 118
To Paint or Not to Paint?	p. 120
From Whiskers to Wheels	p. 123
Starting with Whiskers	p. 123
Attaching the Drive Motor	p. 125
Dealing with Wheels	p. 126
If I Only Had a Brain	p. 133
Adding the Controller	p. 133
Finishing Touches	p. 138
Turning A Robot On	p. 139
Introducing Your Robot to Your Computer	p. 141
Working with the Basic Stamp Editor	p. 141
Running the Built-In Programs	p. 146
Troubleshooting	p. 150
Augmenting Your Programmable Robot	p. 155
Expanding Your Robot's Universe	p. 157
Adding Rear Whiskers	p. 157
Adding an Expansion Board	p. 165
Building a Motorized Head	p. 172
Accessorizing	p. 177
Making Your Robot See the Light	p. 185
Making Sense of Light Sensors	p. 185
Pulling Together the Light-Sensing Hardware	p. 187
Writing the Software That Interprets the Hardware	p. 195
Putting Your Sensor to Work: Real-World Applications	p. 198
More Light Sensor Ideas	p. 205
Some Like It Hot	p. 209
Sensational Temperature Sensors	p. 209
Building the Temperature-Sensor System	p. 212
The Brains of the Beast: The Software	p. 218
Turning Up the Heat: Real-World Applications	p. 222
Halt! Who Goes There?	p. 233
Detecting Motion: An Overview	p. 233
Building the Motion-Detector System	p. 235
The Brains of the Beast: The Software	p. 244
Real-World Applications	p. 247
Yakety-Yak: Adding Speech to Your Robot	p. 251
Straight Talk about Speech Technology	p. 252
Building a Speech System	p. 255
Creating Sound Software	p. 263
Building Your Robot's Vocabulary	p. 268
Putting Speech to Work	p. 268
Talking about Robots	p. 270
I See You	p. 271
All about Video Systems	p. 271
Pretesting	p. 281
Mounting a Board Camera	p. 282
Creating a Tethered Video System	p. 289
Creating a Wireless Video System	p. 294
Wireless Data Links	p. 297
Camera Positioning	p. 298
Applications Using the Video System	p. 302
A Robot's Vision	p. 304
Controlling Your Robot from Afar	p. 305
All about Remote Control	p. 305
The Lowdown on RC Systems	p. 307
Purchasing an RC System	p. 311
Installing an RC System	p. 312
Half and Half: RC and Autonomous Behavior	p. 322
The Part of Tens	p. 327
Ten Excellent Parts Suppliers	p. 329
Tower Hobbies	p. 329
Supercircuits	p. 330
Mouser Electronics	p. 330
Parallax	p. 331
McMaster-Carr	p. 332
Stock Drive Products	p. 332
Radio Shack	p. 333
80/20	p. 334
Edmund Scientific	p. 334
Parts Suppliers a la Carte	p. 335
Ten Safety Pointers	p. 339
Cut Away from Your Body	p. 339
Avoid the Pinch Points	p. 339
Slipping Is Bad	p. 340
Soldering Pitfalls	p. 340
Hot Glue Follies	p. 340
Super Glue on You	p. 341
Dancing around the Drill	p. 341
AC Stands for Are You Crazy!	p. 341
Discharging Capacitors	p. 342
Clipping Nippers	p. 342
Index	p. 343
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