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, Third Edition provides basic, practical knowledge on getting started in amateur robotics. There is a mix of content: from serious reference tables and descriptions to personal stories and humorous bits.
The robot described and built in this book is battery powered and about the size of a lunch box. It is autonomous; that is, it isn't remote controlled.
The book is broken up into small chapters, suitable for bedtime (or bathroom) reading.
The characteristics and purposes of each major component (resistor, transistor, wire, and motor) are described, followed by a hands-on experiment to demonstrate. Not only does this help the reader to understand a particular piece, but it also prepares them with processes to learn new parts on their own. An appendix offers an introduction to 3D printing and parts of the robot can, as an alternative, be ""printed"" using a 3D printer.
The master project of the book is a simple, entertaining, line-following robot.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents at a Glance
- Contents
- About the Author
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Welcome Robot Inventor!
- Chapter 2: Where to Obtain Tools and Parts
-
Chapter 3: Safety
- Benefiting from Age and Experience
- Following Instructions
- Donning Safety Glasses
- Wearing Other Safety Clothes
- Insuring Adequate Ventilation
- Storing Properly
- Washing Before Eating
- Avoiding Nasty Elements
- Shocking
- Steering Clear of Dangerous Robots
- Sizing Up Motors
- Lighting Up
- Staying Rested and Level-Headed
- Chapter 4: Digital Multimeter
- Chapter 5: Numbers and Units
- Chapter 6: Robot Line-Following
- Chapter 7: Nine-Volt Batteries
- Chapter 8: Clips and Test Leads
- Chapter 9: Resistors
- Chapter 10: LEDs
- Chapter 11: Power On!
- Chapter 12: Solderless Prototyping
- Chapter 13: Solderless Breadboard Setup
-
Chapter 14: Variable Resistors
- Potentiometers
- Variable Brightness LED Circuit
- Brightness Balancing Circuit
- Cadmium-Sulfide Photoresistors
- Light-Controlled Circuit
-
Balanced Brightness-Sensing Circuit
- Part List for Balanced Brightness-Sensing Circuit
- Brightness-Sensing Pairs
- Matching Photoresistors
- Resistance-Balancing Potentiometer
- Current-Limiting Resistor
- Test Points
- Converting Resistance to Voltage with a Voltage Divider
- Building the Balanced Brightness-Sensing Circuit
- Inability to Balance the Brightness-Sensing Circuit
- Chapter 15: Comparators
- Chapter 16: Transistor Switches
-
Chapter 17: DC Motors
- How DC Motors Work
- Simple DC Motor Circuit
-
Primary Characteristics of DC Motors
- Rotational Speed Characteristic of DC Motors
- Torque Characteristic of DC Motors
- Voltage Characteristic of DC Motors
- Current Characteristic of DC Motors
- Efficiency Characteristic of DC Motors
- Audible Noise Characteristic of DC Motors
- Electrical Noise Characteristic of DC Motors
- Mass Characteristic of DC Motors
- Dimension Characteristic of DC Motors
- Summarizing the Characteristics of DC Motors
- DC Gearhead Motors
- Moving Forward
- Chapter 18: Adding Gearhead Motors
- Chapter 19: Wheels
- Chapter 20: Coupler
- Chapter 21: Soldering Equipment
- Chapter 22: Soldering and Connecting
- Chapter 23: The Motherboard
- Chapter 24: Body Building
- Chapter 25: Launching the Line-Follower
- Chapter 26: Smoother, Smaller, Cheaper
-
Chapter 27: Encore
-
Robot Components
- Logic Chips
- Microcontrollers
- Voltage Regulators
- Capacitors
- Solar Power
- Resistor Networks
- Pushbuttons
- DIP Switches
- Jumpers and Shorting Blocks
- Tilt Sensor
- Temperature Sensors
- Touch Sensors
- Object Detection and Infrared Remote Control
- Distance and Object Sensor
- Oscillators and Crystals
- Sound
- Relays
- Adding Gears
- Servos
- Encoders—Determining Wheel Speed
- Displays
- Wireless Data and Control
- Everyday Challenges
- Contests
- The Great Wide Open
-
Robot Components
- Appendix A: Appendix A
- Appendix B: Appendix B
- Index
Product information
- Title: Robot Building for Beginners, Third Edition
- Author(s):
- Release date: September 2015
- Publisher(s): Apress
- ISBN: 9781484213599
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