Robotics Demystified

By Edwin Wise

Book Overview

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YOU DON'T NEED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO LEARN ROBOTICS

Now anyone with an interest in robotics can gain a deeper understanding -- without formal training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In Robotics Demystified, expert robot builder and author Edwin Wise provides an effective and totally painless way to learn about the technologies used to build robots

With Robotics Demystified, you master the subject one simple step at a time -- at your own speed. This unique self-teaching guide offers problems at the end of each chapter to reinforce what you have learned.

This fast and entertaining self-teaching course makes if fun and easy to learn about robots. Get ready to:

Learn essential electronics, mechanics, and programming concepts, one step at a timeEvaluate your progress with self-test questionsDiscover the ins and outs of mobile, industrial, and research 'botsFind out how to make your robot sense and think

So if you're looking for an enjoyable route into robotics, let Robotics Demystified be your shortcut

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071436782
• ISBN13: 9780071436786
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
• Length: 314 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 7.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

What was the Author Thinking?

Mr. Cox writes a very good review and, while I of course enjoy the warm glow of 5-star reviews, his 3-stars make sense in his context. You might even say three stars are generous, if you wanted this book as a hands-on guide to making a full robot right now. In his review he asks the rhetorical question "...including Cam Control and Card Control - who seriously uses this anymore?", and I have a practical answer. Everybody! Cams can be found everywhere! Okay, now a serious answer. I took the title seriously; I wanted to demystify robotics -- so I tried to find basic, fundamental illustrations to show the concepts involved in robotics. Cam control? To illustrate sequential control, a form of programming. Punch cards? As the camel's nose into the tent of information representation, or some such thing. Was this the right approach or not? Only the individual reader can decide; as an author, I take a chance, I shoot my ideas out into the air, and sometimes I hit the target and sometimes I miss. The main problem Mr. Cox seems to have with the text is the lack of complex circuits, examples, robot programming, or any actual complete robots! For these needs there are lots of excellent existing books on the shelves... in fact, any one robotic technology requires a full book to do it justice. I didn't want to write yet another robot or electronics cookbook. Instead, I wrote this -- a book with a different goal and perspective than what I already saw on the market. A book that tries to demystify what it means to be a robot, and to provide a look at the technologies and ideas that go into the making of a robot, with a number of simple examples to illustrate them. A book not targeted so much at the experimenter or builder, but to the curious and to the person who may be getting their very first look at the topic. As for the cover descriptions and marketing blurbs -- alas, an author doesn't have much to say about those, and they often miss the intent of the book. Edwin!

an introductory text

A breezy little book that gives a general explanation of how to make your own robots. Very much a hobbyist's flavour, with a hands on approach emphasised. Wise tries to take a lot of the mystique out of the subject. He downplays any complexity in the design. This may ultimately limit what you can get out of the book. But if you have never had any prior exposure to robotics, it is still not a bad choice for a first text.