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Robotics--the design and creation of robots--is one of the most exciting and fast-growing areas of technology today. Robots are essentially computers with physical bodies; they can sense their environment, make decisions, and perform actions. They come in all shapes and sizes and are being used in almost every area of society--from business and industry to science, medicine, communications, entertainment, and beyond. While modern robots can be quite complex, the fundamental principles of robot building can be learned by any interested beginner. If you've ever thought about building your own robots, ROBOT BUILDING FOR TEENS will teach you how to get started in this fascinating hobby. The projects in this book include the "Digital Brain Robot," the "Bug Bot," and even a robot on wheels! You will learn how to design your robot, how to create a prototype, where to buy parts, how to program your finished robot to perform tasks, and more. You'll be led step-by-step through the projects in the book. Along the way, you'll learn about advanced robotic systems that use the same principles you're learning, and you'll get a glimpse into the future of robotics. This book's companion website includes software program files, parts lists for each project, and links to online parts suppliers. ROBOT BUILDING FOR TEENS is a fun, easy-to-understand, hands-on guide that will have you building your own robots in no time.
List of contents
1. The Runaway Robot, or Bug-Like Intelligence.
2. Built-In Intelligence.
3. Sensing and Acting.
4. Digital Brain.
5. Programming the DB-Bot.
6. Who Else is Using Digital Brains?
7. Extending DB-Bot.
8. Robotic Applications and New Directions.
9. What the Future Holds.
About the author
Behnam Salemi is a computer scientist and roboticist. He received his Ph.D. in computer science and robotics from the University of Southern California in 2004. He has worked on many cutting-edge robotic research projects funded by organizations such as NASA and DARPA. He was a member of the award-winning USC Information Sciences Institute robotics team, the Dream Team, which earned the gold medal at RoboCup, an international robotic soccer competition, in Nagoya, Japan, in 1997. He also led the USC/ISI robotics team, Morpheus, to the first-place award at the International Planetary Robotic Contingency Challenge competition in Pasadena, California, in 2008. Behnam enjoys building robots, and his research interests include distributed robotics, artificial intelligence, and multi-agent systems.
Summary
Robotics--the design and creation of robots--is one of the most exciting and fast-growing areas of technology today. Robots are essentially computers with physical bodies; they can sense their environment, make decisions, and perform actions. They come in all shapes and sizes and are being used in almost every area of society--from business and industry to science, medicine, communications, entertainment, and beyond. While modern robots can be quite complex, the fundamental principles of robot building can be learned by any interested beginner. If you've ever thought about building your own robots, ROBOT BUILDING FOR TEENS will teach you how to get started in this fascinating hobby. The projects in this book include the "Digital Brain Robot," the "Bug Bot," and even a robot on wheels! You will learn how to design your robot, how to create a prototype, where to buy parts, how to program your finished robot to perform tasks, and more. You'll be led step-by-step through the projects in the book. Along the way, you'll learn about advanced robotic systems that use the same principles you're learning, and you'll get a glimpse into the future of robotics. This book's companion website includes software program files, parts lists for each project, and links to online parts suppliers. ROBOT BUILDING FOR TEENS is a fun, easy-to-understand, hands-on guide that will have you building your own robots in no time.
