DIY Robotics


Book Description

DIY Robotics: Building Robots from Household Items is a practical and creative guide that shows you how to build robots using common household materials and tools. You will learn how to design, assemble, and program robots that can move, sense, and interact with the environment. You will also discover the principles and concepts behind robotics, such as sensors, actuators, controllers, and algorithms. This book is suitable for beginners and enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds. You don't need any prior experience or knowledge of robotics, electronics, or programming. All you need is curiosity, imagination, and a willingness to experiment.




Homemade Robots


Book Description

Homemade Robots teaches total beginners how to quickly and easily build 10 mobile, autonomous bots with simple tools and common household materials. A Perfect DIY STEAM adventure for the electronically curious. Homemade Robots is a beginner’s guide to building a wide range of mobile, autonomous bots using common household materials. Its 10 creative and easy-to-follow projects are designed to maximize fun with minimal effort—no electronics experience necessary! From the teetering Wobbler to the rolling Barreller, each bot is self-driving and has a unique personality. There’s the aptly named Inchworm Bot made of aluminum rulers; Buffer, a street sweeper-like bot that polishes the floor as it walks; and Sail Bot, which changes direction based on the wind. Randy Sarafan’s hacker approach to sculptural robotics will appeal to builders of all ages. You’ll learn basic electronics, get comfortable with tools and mechanical systems, and gain the confidence to explore further on your own. A wide world of robots is yours to discover, and Homemade Robots is the perfect starting point.




Robot Building for Beginners


Book Description

“I wrote this book because I love building robots. I want you to love building robots, too. It took me a while to learn about many of the tools and parts in amateur robotics. Perhaps by writing about my experiences, I can give you a head start.” —David Cook Robot Building for Beginners, Second Edition is an update of David Cook’s best-selling Robot Building for Beginners. This book continues its aim at teenagers and adults who have an avid interest in science and dream of building household explorers. No formal engineering education is assumed. The robot described and built in this book is battery powered and about the size of a lunchbox. It is autonomous. That is, it isn’t remote controlled. You’ll begin with some tools of the trade, and then work your way through prototyping, robot bodybuilding, and eventually soldering your own circuit boards. By the book’s end, you will have a solid amateur base of understanding so that you can begin creating your own robots to vacuum your house or maybe even rule the world!




Make an Arduino-Controlled Robot


Book Description

Building robots that sense and interact with their environment used to be tricky. Now, Arduino makes it easy. With this book and an Arduino microcontroller and software creation environment, you’ll learn how to build and program a robot that can roam around, sense its environment, and perform a wide variety of tasks. All you to get started with the fun projects is a little programming experience and a keen interest in electronics. Make a robot that obeys your every command—or runs on its own. Maybe you’re a teacher who wants to show students how to build devices that can move, sense, respond, and interact with the physical world. Or perhaps you’re a hobbyist looking for a robot companion to make your world a little more futuristic. With Make an Arduino Controlled Robot, you’ll learn how to build and customize smart robots on wheels. You will: Explore robotics concepts like movement, obstacle detection, sensors, and remote control Use Arduino to build two- and four-wheeled robots Put your robot in motion with motor shields, servos, and DC motors Work with distance sensors, infrared reflectance sensors, and remote control receivers Understand how to program your robot to take on all kinds of real-world physical challenges




Making Simple Robots


Book Description

Making Simple Robots is based on one idea: Anybody can build a robot! That includes kids, school teachers, parents, and non-engineers. If you can knit, sew, or fold a flat piece of paper into a box, you can build a no-tech robotic part. If you can use a hot glue gun, you can learn to solder basic electronics into a low-tech robot that reacts to its environment. And if you can figure out how to use the apps on your smart phone, you can learn enough programming to communicate with a simple robot. Written in language that non-engineers can understand, Making Simple Robots helps beginners move beyond basic craft skills and materials to the latest products and tools being used by artists and inventors. Find out how to animate folded paper origami, design a versatile robot wheel-leg for 3D printing, or program a rag doll to blink its cyborg eye. Each project includes step-by-step directions as well as clear diagrams and photographs. And every chapter offers suggestions for modifying and expanding the projects, so that you can return to the projects again and again as your skill set grows.




Robotics, Vision and Control


Book Description

The author has maintained two open-source MATLAB Toolboxes for more than 10 years: one for robotics and one for vision. The key strength of the Toolboxes provide a set of tools that allow the user to work with real problems, not trivial examples. For the student the book makes the algorithms accessible, the Toolbox code can be read to gain understanding, and the examples illustrate how it can be used —instant gratification in just a couple of lines of MATLAB code. The code can also be the starting point for new work, for researchers or students, by writing programs based on Toolbox functions, or modifying the Toolbox code itself. The purpose of this book is to expand on the tutorial material provided with the toolboxes, add many more examples, and to weave this into a narrative that covers robotics and computer vision separately and together. The author shows how complex problems can be decomposed and solved using just a few simple lines of code, and hopefully to inspire up and coming researchers. The topics covered are guided by the real problems observed over many years as a practitioner of both robotics and computer vision. It is written in a light but informative style, it is easy to read and absorb, and includes a lot of Matlab examples and figures. The book is a real walk through the fundamentals of robot kinematics, dynamics and joint level control, then camera models, image processing, feature extraction and epipolar geometry, and bring it all together in a visual servo system. Additional material is provided at http://www.petercorke.com/RVC




Beginning Robotics with Raspberry Pi and Arduino


Book Description

Learn how to use a Raspberry Pi in conjunction with an Arduino to build a basic robot with advanced capabilities. Getting started in robotics does not have to be difficult. This book is an insightful and rewarding introduction to robotics and a catalyst for further directed study. You'll be led step by step through the process of building a robot that uses the power of a Linux based computer paired with the simplicity of Arduino. You’ll learn why the Raspberry Pi is a great choice for a robotics platform; its strengths as well as its shortcomings; how to overcome these limitations by implementing an Arduino; and the basics of the Python programming language as well as some of the more powerful features. With the Raspberry Pi you can give your project the power of a Linux computer, while Arduino makes interacting with sensors and motors very easy. These two boards are complimentary in their functions; where one falters the other performs admirably. The book also includes references to other great works to help further your growth in the exciting, and now accessible, field of smart robotics. As a bonus, the final chapter of the book demonstrates the real power of the Raspberry Pi by implementing a basic vision system. Using OpenCV and a standard USB web cam, you will build a robot that can chase a ball. What You'll Learn Install Raspbian, the operating system that drives the Raspberry Pi Drive motors through an I2C motor controller Read data through sensors attached to an Arduino Who This Book Is For Hobbyists and students looking for a rapid start in robotics. It assumes no technical background. Readers are guided to pursue the areas that interest them in more detail as they learn.




Arduino IV: DIY Robots


Book Description

This book gives a step-by-step introduction to designing and building your own robots. As with other books in the Arduino series, the book begins with a quick overview of the Arduino Integrated Development Environment (IDE) used to write sketches, and the hardware systems aboard the Arduino UNO R3 and the Mega 2560 Rev 3. The level of the text makes it accessible for students, hobbyist and professionals' first introduction to both Arduino and Robotics. This book will be accessible by all levels of students, advanced hobbyists and engineering professionals, whether using as a self-reference or within a structure design laboratory. The text then examines the many concepts and characteristics common to all robots. In addition, throughout the book , reasonably priced, easily accessible and available off-the-shelf robots are examined. Examples include wheeled robots, tracked robots and also a robotic arm. After a thorough and easy to follow Arduino IDE and hardware introduction, the book launches into “do it yourself” or DIY concepts. A unique feature of the book is to start with a hands-on introduction to low cost 3D printing. These concepts will allow you to design and print your own custom robot parts and chassis. We then explore concepts to sense a robot's environment, move the robot about and provide a portable power source. We conclude with a several DIY robot projects.




Robot Builder


Book Description

Absolutely no experience needed! Learn robot building from the ground up, hands-on, in full color! Love robots? Start building them. It’s way easier than you ever imagined! John Baichtal has helped thousands of people get started with robotics. He knows what beginners need to know. He knows your questions. He knows where you might need extra help. Now, he’s brought together this practical knowledge in one incredibly easy tutorial. Hundreds of full-color photos guide you through every step, every skill. You’ll start simple, as you build a working robot in the very first chapter. Then, you’ll grow your skills to expert-level: powering motors, configuring sensors, constructing a chassis, even programming low-cost Arduino microcontrollers. You’ll learn hands-on, through real step-by-step projects...and go straight to the cutting-edge with in-depth sidebars. Wondering just how much you can really do? Baichtal shows you 30 incredible robots built by people just like you! John Baichtal’s books about toys, tools, robots, and hobby electronics include Hack This: 24 Incredible Hackerspace Projects from the DIY Movement; Basic Robot Building With Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0; Arduino for Beginners; MAKE: Lego and Arduino Projects for MAKE (as coauthor); and the forthcoming Building Your Own Drones: The Beginner’s Guide to UAVs and ROVs. A founding member of the pioneering Twin Cities Maker hackerspace, he got his start writing for Wired’s legendary GeekDad blog, and for DIYer bible MAKE Magazine. Make your robots move with motors and wheels Build solar-powered robots that work without batteries Control robots via Wi-Fi, radio, or even across the Internet Program robots to respond to sensor inputs Use your standard TV remote to control your robots Create robots that detect intruders and shoot them with Nerf® darts Grab and carry objects using claws and grippers Build water-borne robots that float, submerge, and “swim” Create “artbots” that paint or draw original artworks Enable your robots to send text messages when they take specific actions Discover today’s new generation of hobbyist-friendly robotics kits Organize your ultimate robot-builder’s toolbox Master simple safety routines that protect you whatever you’re building




High-Tech DIY Projects with Robotics


Book Description

Learning the ins and outs of robotics can take a lifetime, but learning the basics just takes reading one book! Different types of robots and their components, functions, and purposes are explored in a way that students will find helpful and encouraging when they begin working on their own projects. More than just a beginner’s guide, this may be the spark to ignite limitless possibility for kids who love to use their minds and hands.