1. Home
  2. General Robotics Forum
  3. robot newbie

robot newbie

Hello,

I want to get into building robots as a hobby. As a background on myself, I am a computer programmer but have good physics and math skills as well.

I would like to know a good practical book for someone like me, but still contains a descent amount of theory because I would like to learn some some robotics theory along the way as well. However, nothing too rigorous because as I said this is a hobby, and if its not fun I won't do it.

In addition to just building robots, I would like to be able to program them with my PC also.

Cheers.

Reply to
hans
Loading thread data ...

Google?

For example:

formatting link
Mitch Berkson

Reply to
Mitch Berkson

I would start with microcontrollers, buy a PIC 16f84 microcontroller from microchip, this is a very simple and yet a very usefull microcontroller, with your math and programmers skills it will be a peace of cake to program it, do google search to make a programmer and an interface for your PIC

succes,

Yannick

Reply to
Yannick De Wit

Why do you say "but"? Are these things mutually exclusive? ;-)

PeterS Remove my PANTS to reply

Reply to
Spam Magnet

I started out with "Building Robot Drive Trains" by Dennis Clark and Michael Owings. Gordon McComb also has some great books like "Robot Builder's Bonanza". I am using an OOPic microcontroller for low-level control. I recommend the OOPic for a hobbyist - it is very useful and easy to program. Dennis Clark wrote a book for programming the OOPic - a must-have since the OOPic documentation sucks. These books are available everywhere, like Borders Books or Amazon.com. I was surprised to see a great selection of other books at Borders.

BRW

Reply to
Bennet Williams

I assume you mean robot books... Anyway, IMO, Borders probably has the better selection than Barnes & Noble. Though it varies from store to store, their computer book section is also much larger than B&Ns, with more higher-level and advanced topics.

I also like the idea of thumbing through books, and a "real" bookstore has no match. It also helps to sell books: My Robot Builder's Sourcebook does better in bricks-and-mortar stores, where people can actually leaf through it. Apart from one Luddite (probably a competing robot book author, from the tone of it) who posted a negative review of the book on Amazon, it's one of those books that people like much better when they can actually see it.

Though I like shopping for robot books at Borders, B&N has been very good in supporting the publication of robot books, hosting special end-cap displays from time to time. In fact, it was their suggestion that McGraw-Hill (who published my and Dennis' books) do a robot kit.

-- Gordon Author: Robot Builder's Sourcebook & Robot Builder's Bonanza

Reply to
Gordon McComb

PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.