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Informationen zum Autor 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. Klappentext Discover what robots can do and how they workFind out how to build your own robot and program it to perform tasksReady 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 WayExplanations in plain English' Get in, get out' informationIcons and other navigational aidsTear-out cheat sheetTop ten listsA dash of humor and fun Zusammenfassung Ready to enter the robot world? This book 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. It also includes some titbits about robot history! icons and other navigational aids; tear-out cheat sheet; and top ten lists. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Conventions Used in This Book 1 What You're Not to Read 2 Foolish Assumptions 2 How This Book Is Organized 3 Part I: Getting Started with Robotics 3 Part II: Programmable Robot Prep 4 Part III: Building a Programmable Robot 4 Part IV: Augmenting Your Programmable Robot 4 Part V: The Part of Tens 5 Icons Used in This Book 5 Where to Go from Here 6 Part I: Getting Started with Robotics 7 Chapter 1: So, You Want to Build a Robot? 9 The Robotics Revolution 10 Where have we been? 10 Are we there yet? 10 Where are we going? 11 Robot Uses 12 Security 12 Surveillance and exploration 13 Human helper 14 Chapter 2: Plotting a Path 15 Starting with a Kit 15 Selecting a Robot Kit 16 Nonprogrammable kits 17 Programmable kits 21 Moving Up to Robot Construction Sets 24 Anatomy of a robot construction set 24 Grow, grow, and outgrow! 25 Building a Robot from Scratch 25 Choosing what to get off the shelf 25 Parts sources 27 Economics and Time Considerations 28 Start small 28 Haste makes waste 29 Don't get stuck in a rut! 29 Reuse and recycle 29 Get testy with your robot 30 Get on the right path 30 Chapter 3: Building Your First Robot 31 Robot Kit to the Rescue 31 On Your Mark, Get Set 32 Making time 32 Your workspace 33 Tools and grunting noises 33 Precautions 34 It's in the book 36 Let the Building Begin 36 Jumping ahead 36 Going nuts 37 Cutting up 37 The story of gears and motors 37 Batteries are last 37 Extra parts 38 Testing and Troubleshooting 38 The dead robot 39 Motor problems 39 Side stepping 40 Soccer Jr in Action 40 Soccer 40 Gathering balls 41 Shooting pool 41 Sumo without the bulk 42 Learning Your Robot Chops 42 Motors making my head spin 42 Grinding those gears 43 Cams, but not for the Web 44 Juicing it up with batteries 45 Baby Robot Steps 48 Part II: Programmable Robot Prep 49 Chapter 4: Setting Up Your Robot Workshop 51 Creating an Ideal Work Area 51 Getting Organized 53 Tool Time 54 Personal computer 54 Testing equipment 55 Power strips 59 Machining 60 CAD software 60 Testing your circuit board design 60 Integrated development environment 61 Device programmers 61<...