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Index
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
I.1 Inside Robot Builder’s Bonanza
I.2 About the Third Edition
I.3 What You Will Learn
I.4 How to Use This Book
I.5 Expertise You Need
I.6 Conventions Used in This Book
Part 1—Robot Basics
Chapter 1—The Robot Experimenter
1.1 The Building-Block Approach
1.2 Basic Skills
1.2.1 Electronics Background
1.2.2 Programming Background
1.2.3 Mechanical Background
1.2.4 Workshop Aptitude
1.2.5 The Two Most Important Skills
1.3 Ready-Made, Kits, or Do-It-Yourself?
1.4 The Mind of the Robot Experimenter
1.5 From Here
Chapter 2—Anatomy of a Robot
2.1 Tethered versus Self-Contained
2.2 Mobile versus Stationary
2.3 Autonomous versus Teleoperated
2.4 The Body of the Robot
2.4.1 Skeletal Structures
2.4.2 Frame Construction
2.4.3 Size and Shape
2.4.4 Flesh and Bone
2.5 Power Systems
2.5.1 Types of Batteries
2.5.2 Alternative Power Sources
2.5.3 Pressure Systems
2.6 Locomotion Systems
2.6.1 Wheels
2.6.2 Legs
2.6.3 Tracks
2.7 Arms and Hands
2.7.1 Stand-Alone or Built-On Manipulators
2.7.2 Grippers
2.8 Sensory Devices
2.9 Output Devices
2.10 Smart versus Dumb Robots
2.11 The Concept of Robot Work
2.12 From Here
Chapter 3—Structural Materials
3.1 Paper
3.2 Wood
3.3 Plastics
3.4 Metal Stock
3.4.1 Extruded Aluminum
3.4.2 Shelving Standards
3.4.3 Mending Plates
3.4.4 Rods and Squares
3.4.5 Iron Angle Brackets
3.5 Quick Turn Mechanical Prototypes
3.6 Fasteners
3.6.1 Nuts and Bolts
3.6.2 Washers
3.6.3 All-Thread Rod
3.6.4 Special Nuts
3.6.5 Rivets
3.6.6 Adhesives
3.6.7 Miscellaneous Methods
3.7 Scavenging: Making Do with What You Already Have
3.8 Finishing Your Robot’s Structure
3.9 From Here
Chapter 4—Buying Parts
4.1 Hobby and Model Stores
4.2 Craft Stores
4.3 Hardware Stores
4.4 Electronic Stores
4.5 Electronics Wholesalers and Distributors
4.6 Samples from Electronics Manufacturers
4.7 Specialty Stores
4.8 Shopping the Surplus Store
4.8.1 What You Can Get Surplus
4.9 Finding Parts on the Internet
4.10 From Here
Chapter 5—Electronic Components
5.1 Cram Course in Electrical Theory
5.2 Wire Gauge
5.3 Fixed Resistors
5.4 Variable Resistors
5.5 Capacitors
5.6 Diodes
5.7 Transistors
5.8 Grounding Circuitry
5.9 Integrated Circuits
5.10 Schematics and Electronic Symbols
5.11 From Here
Chapter 6—Tools
6.1 Safety
6.2 Setting Up Shop
6.3 Basic Tools
6.3.1 Optional Tools
6.4 Electronic Tools
6.4.1 Static Control
6.4.2 Digital Multimeter
6.4.3 Logic Probes
6.4.4 Oscilloscope
6.5 From Here
Chapter 7—Electronic Construction Techniques
7.1 Soldering Tips and Techniques
7.1.1 Solder Safety
7.1.2 Tools and Equipment
7.1.3 How to Solder
7.1.4 Solder Tip Maintenance and Cleanup
7.2 Breadboards
7.3 Prototyping PCBs
7.4 Point-to-Point Prototyping Wiring
7.5 Wire-Wrapping
7.6 Quick Turn Prototype Printed Circuit Boards
7.7 Headers and Connectors
7.8 Eliminating Static Electricity
7.8.1 Storing Static-Sensitive Components
7.8.2 Tips to Reduce Static
7.9 Good Design Principles
7.9.1 Pull-Up Resistors
7.9.2 Use Bypass Capacitors
7.9.3 How to Solder
7.9.4 Avoid Ground Loops
7.10 From Here
Part 2—Robot Platform Construction
Chapter 8—Plastic Platforms
8.1 Types of Plastics
8.2 Working with Plastics
8.2.1 How to Cut Plastic
8.2.2 How to Drill Plastic
8.2.3 How to Bend and Form Plastic
8.2.4 How to Polish the Edges of Plastic
8.2.5 How to Glue Plastic
8.2.6 Using Hot Glue with Plastics
8.2.7 How to Paint Plastics
8.2.8 Buying Plastic
8.2.9 Plastics around the House
8.3 Building the Minibot
8.3.1 Foundation or Base
8.3.2 Motor Mount
8.3.3 Top Shell
8.3.4 Battery Holder
8.3.5 Wiring Diagram
8.4 From Here
Chapter 9—Wooden Platforms
9.1 Choosing the Right Wood
9.1.1 Plywood
9.1.2 Planking
9.1.3 Balsa
9.1.4 Dowels
9.2 The Woodcutter’s Art
9.3 Cutting and Drilling
9.4 Finishing
9.5 Building a Wooden Motorized Platform
9.5.1 Attaching the Motors
9.5.2 Stabilizing Caster
9.5.3 Battery Holder
9.6 From Here
Chapter 10—Metal Platforms
10.1 Working with Metal
10.1.1 Marking Cut Lines and Drill Hole Centers
10.1.2 Cutting
10.1.3 Drilling
10.1.4 Bending
10.1.5 Finishing
10.2 Build the Buggybot
10.2.1 Frameworks
10.2.2 Motors and Motor Mount
10.2.3 Support Caster
10.2.4 Battery Holder
10.2.5 Wiring Diagram
10.3 Test Run
10.4 From Here
Chapter 11—Hacking Toys
11.1 A Variety of Construction Sets
11.1.1 Erector Set
11.1.2 Robotix
11.1.3 LEGO
11.1.4 CAPSULA
11.1.5 Fischertechnik
11.1.6 K’Nex
11.1.7 Zoob
11.1.8 Chaos
11.1.9 Other Construction Toys
11.2 Specialty Toys for Robot Hacking
11.2.1 Robosapien
11.2.2 Tamiya
11.2.3 OWIKITS and MOVITS
11.2.4 Rokenbok
11.3 Robots from Converted Vehicles
11.3.1 Hacking a Toy into a Robot
11.4 From Here
Part 3—Computers and Electronic Control
Chapter 12—An Overview of Robot “Brains”
12.1 Brains from Discrete Components
12.1.1 BEAM Technology
12.2 Brains from Computers and Microcontrollers
12.3 Types of Computers for Robots
12.3.1 Microcontrollers
12.3.2 Personal Digital Assistants
12.3.3 Single-Board Computers
12.3.4 Personal Computers
12.4 Inputs and Outputs
12.4.1 Serial Communications
12.4.2 Asynchronous Serial Communications
12.4.3 Digital-to-Analog Conversion
12.4.4 Pulse and Frequency Management
12.4.5 Special Functions
12.5 From Here
Chapter 13—Programming Fundamentals
13.1 Important Programming Concepts
13.1.1 Linear Program Execution
13.1.2 Flowcharts
13.1.3 Variables and I/O Ports
13.1.4 Assignment Statements
13.1.5 Arrays and Character Strings
13.1.6 Decision Structures
13.1.7 Subroutines and Functions
13.1.8 Console I/O
13.1.9 Comments
13.2 Robotics Programming
13.3 Graphical Programming
13.4 From Here
Chapter 14—Computer Peripherals
14.1 Sensors as Inputs
14.1.1 Types of Sensors
14.1.2 Examples of Sensors
14.2 Input and Output Methodologies
14.2.1 Parallel Interfacing
14.2.2 Serial Interfacing
14.3 Motors and Other Outputs
14.3.1 Other Common Types of Outputs
14.4 Sample Output Circuits
14.5 Digital Inputs
14.5.1 Interfacing from Different Voltage Levels
14.5.2 Using Opto-Isolators
14.5.3 Zener Diode Input Protection
14.6 Interfacing Analog Input
14.6.1 Voltage Comparator
14.6.2 Signal Amplification
14.6.3 Signal Buffering
14.6.4 Other Signal Techniques for Op-Amps
14.6.5 Common Input Interfaces
14.7 Analog-to-Digital Converters
14.7.1 How Analog-to-Digital Conversion Works
14.7.2 Inside the Successive Approximation ADC
14.7.3 Analog-to-Digital Conversion ICs
14.7.4 Integrated Microcontroller ADCs
14.7.5 Sample Circuits
14.8 Digital-to-Analog Conversion
14.9 Expanding Available I/O Lines
14.10 Bitwise Port Programming
14.10.1 Masking Values by ANDing
14.10.2 Converting a Value into a Binary-Format String
14.10.3 Summing Bits into a Decimal Value
14.11 From Here
Chapter 15—The BASIC Stamp 2 Microcontroller
15.1 Choosing the Right Stamp for Your Application
15.2 Inside the Basic Stamp
15.3 Developer’s Options
15.4 Understanding and Using PBASIC
15.4.1 Variable and Pin/Port Definitions
15.4.2 Assignment Statements and Arithmetic Expressions
15.4.3 Execution Flow and Decision Structures
15.4.4 Built-in Functions
15.5 Sample Interface Applications
15.5.1 Basic BS2 Setup
15.5.2 LED Outputs
15.5.3 Adding Switches and Other Digital Inputs
15.5.4 LCD Interface
15.5.5 I/O Port Simulator
15.6 BS2 Application Design Suggestions
15.7 From Here
Chapter 16—Remote Control Systems
16.1 Controlling Your Robot with a PC Joystick or Control Pad
16.2 Building a Joystick Teaching Pendant
16.2.1 Possible Enhancements
16.3 Commanding a Robot with Infrared Remote Control
16.3.1 A Typical Microcontroller Interface
16.3.2 BS2 Interface
16.3.3 Controlling Robot Motors with a Remote Control
16.3.4 Going Further
16.4 Using Radio Control Instead of Infrared
16.5 From Here
Part 4—Power, Motors, and Locomotion
Chapter 17—Batteries and Robot Power Supplies
17.1 Remember: Safety First!
17.2 Increasing Robot Performance
17.3 Combining Batteries
17.4 Types of Batteries
17.4.1 Zinc
17.4.2 Alkaline
17.4.3 High-Tech Alkaline
17.4.4 Nickel Metal Hydride
17.4.5 Nickel-Cadmium
17.4.6 Lithium and Lithium-Ion
17.4.7 Lead-Acid
17.5 Battery Ratings
17.5.1 Voltage
17.5.2 Capacity
17.5.3 Recharge Rate
17.5.4 Nominal Cell Voltage
17.6 Battery Recharging
17.7 Recharging the Robot
17.8 Battery Care
17.9 Power Distribution
17.9.1 Fuse Protection
17.9.2 Multiple Voltage Requirements
17.9.3 Separate Battery Supplies
17.10 Voltage Regulation
17.10.1 Zener Diode Voltage Regulation
17.10.2 Linear Voltage Regulators
17.10.3 Switching Voltage Regulation
17.10.4 Power Distribution
17.11 Battery Monitors
17.11.1 4.3 V Zener Battery Monitor
17.11.2 Zener/Comparator Battery Monitor
17.11.3 Using a Battery Monitor with a Microprocessor
17.12 A Robot Testing Power Supply
17.13 From Here
Chapter 18—Principles of Robot Locomotion
18.1 First Things First: Weight
18.2 Tips for Reducing Weight
18.3 Beware of the Heavy Frame
18.4 Construction Robots with Multiple Decks
18.5 Frame Sagging Caused by Weight
18.6 Horizontal Center of Balance
18.7 Vertical Center of Gravity
18.8 Locomotion Issues
18.8.1 Wheels and Tracks
18.8.2 Legs
18.9 Motor Drives
18.9.1 Centerline Drive Motor Mount
18.9.2 Front-Drive Motor Mount
18.9.3 Caster Choices
18.10 Steering Methods
18.10.1 Differential
18.10.2 Car-Type
18.10.3 Tricycle
18.10.4 Omnidirectional
18.11 Calculating the Speed of Robot Travel
18.12 Round Robots or Square?
18.13 From Here
Chapter 19—Choosing the Right Motor
19.1 AC or DC?
19.2 Continuous or Stepping?
19.3 Servo Motors
19.4 Other Motor Types
19.5 Motor Specifications
19.5.1 Operating Voltage
19.5.2 Current Draw
19.5.3 Speed
19.5.4 Torque
19.5.5 Stall or Running Torque
19.6 Gears and Gear Reduction
19.6.1 Gears 101
19.6.2 Establishing Gear Reduction
19.6.3 Using Motors with Gear Reduction
19.6.4 Anatomy of a Gear
19.7 Pulleys, Belts, Sprockets, and Roller Chain
19.7.1 More about Pulleys and Belts
19.7.2 More about Sprockets and Roller Chain
19.8 Mounting the Motor
19.9 Connecting to the Motor Shaft
19.10 From Here
Chapter 20—Working with DC Motors
20.1 The Fundamentals of DC Motors
20.2 Reviewing DC Motor Ratings
20.3 Motor Control
20.3.1 Relay Control
20.3.2 Bipolar Transistor Control
20.3.3 Power MOSFET Control
20.3.4 Motor Bridge Control
20.3.5 Relay versus Bipolar versus FET Motor Drivers
20.4 Motor Speed Control
20.4.1 Not the Way to Do It
20.4.2 Basic PWM Speed Control
20.4.3 Counter-Based PWM Speed Control
20.5 Odometry: Measuring Distance of Travel
20.5.1 Anatomy of a Shaft Encoder
20.5.2 The Distance Counter
20.5.3 Making the Shaft Encoder
20.5.4 Mounting the Hardware
20.5.5 Quadrature Encoding
20.6 From Here
Chapter 21—Working with Stepper Motors
21.1 Inside a Stepper Motor
21.1.1 Wave Step Sequence
21.1.2 Four-Step Sequence
21.2 Design Considerations of Stepper Motors
21.2.1 Stepper Phasing
21.2.2 Step Angle
21.2.3 Pulse Rate
21.2.4 Running Torque
21.2.5 Braking Effect
21.2.6 Voltage, Current Ratings
21.3 Controlling a Stepper Motor
21.3.1 Using a Stepper Motor Controller Chip
21.3.2 Using Logic Gates to Control Stepper Motors
21.3.3 Translator Enhancements
21.3.4 Triggering the Translator Circuits
21.3.5 Using Bipolar Stepper Motors
21.3.6 Buying and Testing a Stepper Motor
21.3.7 Sources for Stepper Motors
21.3.8 Wiring Diagram
21.4 From Here
Chapter 22—Working with Servo Motors
22.1 How Servos Work
22.2 Servos and Pulse Width Modulation
22.3 The Role of the Potentiometer
22.4 Rotational Limits
22.5 Special-Purpose Servo Types and Sizes
22.6 Gear Trains and Power Drives
22.7 Typical Servo Specs
22.8 Connector Styles and Wiring
22.8.1 Connector Type
22.8.2 Pinout and Color Coding
22.9 Circuits for Controlling a Servo
22.9.1 Controlling a Servo via a 556 Timer Chip
22.9.2 Controlling a Servo via a BASIC Stamp
22.9.3 Using a Dedicated Controller
22.9.4 Servo Voltage Margins
22.9.5 Working with and Avoiding the Dead Band
22.9.6 Going beyond the 1 to 2 Millisecond Pulse Range
22.10 Modifying a Servo for Continuous Rotation
22.10.1 Basic Modification Instructions
22.10.2 Applying New Grease
22.10.3 Testing the Modified Servo
22.10.4 A Caution on Modifying Servos
22.10.5 Software for Running Modified Servos
22.10.6 Limitations of Modified Servos
22.10.7 Modifying by Removing the Servo Control Board
22.11 Attaching Mechanical Linkages to Servos
22.12 Attaching Wheels to Servos
22.13 Mounting Servos on the Body of the Robot
22.13.1 Attaching Servos with Glue
22.13.2 Attaching Servos with Screws or Bolts
22.14 From Here
Part 5—Practical Robotics Projects
Chapter 23—Building a Roverbot
23.1 Building the Base
23.2 Motors
23.3 Support Casters
23.4 Batteries
23.5 Riser Frame
23.6 Street Test
23.7 From Here
Chapter 24—Building a Heavy-Duty Six-Legged Walking Robot
24.1 Frame
24.2 Legs
24.3 Motors
24.4 Batteries
24.5 Testing and Alignment
24.6 From Here
Chapter 25—Advanced Robot Locomotion Systems
25.1 Making Tracks
25.2 Steering Wheel Systems
25.3 Six-Wheeled Robot Cart
25.4 Building Robots with Shape-Memory Alloy
25.4.1 Basics of SMA
25.4.2 Using SMA
25.4.3 Shape-Memory Alloy Mechanisms
25.4.4 Designing Robots for SMA Limitations
25.5 From Here
Chapter 26—Reaching Out with Robot Arms
26.1 The Human Arm
26.2 Arm Types
26.2.1 Revolute Coordinate
26.2.2 Polar Coordinate
26.2.3 Cylindrical Coordinate
26.2.4 Cartesian Coordinate
26.3 Activation Techniques
26.4 From Here
Chapter 27—Building a Revolute Coordinate Arm
27.1 Design Overview
27.2 Shoulder Joint and Upper Arm
27.3 Elbow and Forearm
27.4 Refinements
27.5 Position Control
27.5.1 Potentiometer
27.5.2 Incremental Shaft Encoders
27.6 From Here
Chapter 28—Experimenting with Gripper Designs
28.1 The Clapper
28.2 Two-Pincher Gripper
28.2.1 Basic Model
28.2.2 Advanced Model Number 1
28.2.3 Advanced Model Number 2
28.3 Flexible Finger Grippers
28.4 Wrist Rotation
28.5 From Here
Part 6—Sensors and Navigation
Chapter 29—The Sense of Touch
29.1 Mechanical Switch
29.1.1 Microswitches
29.2 Switch Bouncing
29.2.1 Hardware Debounce
29.2.2 Software Debounce
29.3 Optical Sensors
29.4 Mechanical Pressure Sensors
29.4.1 Conductive Foam
29.4.2 Strain Gauges
29.4.3 Converting Pressure Data to Computer Data
29.5 Experimenting with Piezoelectric Touch Sensors
29.5.1 Experimenting with Ceramic Discs
29.5.2 Experimenting with Kynar Piezo Film
29.5.3 Attaching Leads to Kynar Piezo Film
29.5.4 Using Kynar Piezo Film as a Mechanical Transducer
29.5.5 Constructing a Kynar Piezo Film Bend Sensor
29.6 Other Types of Touch Sensors
29.7 From Here
Chapter 30—Object Detection
30.1 Design Overview
30.1.1 Near-Object Detection
30.1.2 Far-Object Detection
30.1.3 Remembering the KISS Principle
30.1.4 Redundancy
30.2 Noncontact Near-Object Detection
30.2.1 Simple Infrared Light Proximity Sensor
30.2.2 Better IR Proximity Sensor
30.2.3 Sharp Infrared Object Sensors
30.2.4 Passive Infrared Detection
30.2.5 Using a New or Removed-from-Circuit Detector
30.2.6 Hacking a Motion Detector Board
30.2.7 Using the Focusing Lens
30.2.8 Ultrasonic Sound
30.3 Contact Detection
30.3.1 Physical Contact Bumper Switch
30.3.2 Whisker
30.3.3 Spring Whiskers
30.3.4 Pressure Pad
30.3.5 Multiple Bumper Switches
30.4 Soft Touch and Compliant Collision Detection
30.4.1 Laser Fiber Whiskers
30.4.2 Piezo Disc Touch Bar
30.4.3 Other Approaches for Soft-Touch Sensors
30.5 From Here
Chapter 31—Sound Input and Output
31.1 Cassette Recorder Sound Output
31.2 Electronically Recorded Sound Output
31.2.1 Hacking a Toy Sound Recorder
31.2.2 Using the ISD Family of Voice-Sound Recorders
31.3 Sirens and Other Warning Sounds
31.4 Sound Control
31.5 Audio Amplifiers
31.6 Speech Recognition
31.7 Speech Synthesis
31.8 Sound Input Sensors
31.8.1 Microphone
31.8.2 Amplifier Input Stage
31.8.3 Tone Decoding Detection
31.8.4 Building a Sound Source
31.9 From Here
Chapter 32—Robot Vision
32.1 Simple Sensors for Vision
32.2 One-Cell Cyclops
32.3 Multiple-Cell Light Sensors
32.4 Using Lenses and Filters with Light-Sensitive Sensors
32.4.1 Using Lenses
32.4.2 Using Filters
32.5 Introduction to Video Vision Systems
32.5.1 Robot View Digital Camera
32.6 Vision by Laser Light
32.7 Going beyond Light-Sensitive Vision
32.7.1 Ultrasonics
32.7.2 Radar
32.7.3 Passive Infrared
32.7.4 Tactile Feedback
32.8 From Here
Chapter 33—Navigation
33.1 A Game of Goals
33.2 Following a Predefined Path: Line Tracing
33.2.1 Computer Controlled Line Following
33.3 Wall Following
33.3.1 Variations of Wall Following
33.3.2 Ultrasonic Wall Following
33.3.3 Soft-Contact Following with Foam Wheels
33.3.4 Dealing with Doorways and Objects
33.3.5 Coding Your Wall-Following Robot
33.4 Odometry: The Art of Dead Reckoning
33.4.1 Optical Encoders
33.4.2 Magnetic Encoders
33.4.3 The Function of Encoders in Odometry
33.4.4 Errors in Odometry
33.5 Compass Bearings
33.6 Ultrasonic Distance Measurement
33.6.1 Facts and Figures
33.6.2 Interfacing a Polaroid 6500 Ultrasonic Range Finder
33.7 “Where Am I?”: Sighting Landmarks
33.7.1 Infrared Beacon
33.7.2 Radio Frequency Identification
33.7.3 Landmark Recognition
33.7.4 Other Techniques for Beacons and Lighthouses
33.7.5 Coupled Sonar and IR Light
33.8 Exploring Other Position-Referencing Systems
33.8.1 Global Positioning Satellite
33.8.2 Inertial Navigation
33.8.3 Map Matching
33.9 From Here
Chapter 34—Fire Detection Systems
34.1 Flame Detection
34.1.1 Detecting the Infrared Light from a Fire
34.1.2 Watching for the Flicker of Fire
34.2 Using a Pyroelectric Sensor to Detect Fire
34.3 Smoke Detection
34.3.1 Hacking a Smoke Alarm
34.3.2 Interfacing the Alarm to a Computer
34.3.3 Testing the Alarm
34.3.4 Limitations of Robots Detecting Smoke
34.3.5 Detecting Noxious Fumes
34.4 Heat Sensing
34.5 Firefighting
34.6 From Here
Chapter 35—Experimenting with Tilt and Gravity Sensors
35.1 Sensors to Measure Tilt
35.1.1 Building a Balance System with a Mercury Switch
35.1.2 Building a Balance System with a Ball-in-Cage Switch
35.2 Using an Accelerometer to Measure Tilt
35.2.1 What Is an Accelerometer?
35.2.2 Additional Uses for Accelerometers
35.2.3 Single- and Dual-Axis Sensing
35.2.4 The Analog Devices’ ADXL Accelerometer Family
35.3 Constructing a Dual-Axis Accelerometer Robotic Sensor
35.3.1 Wiring Diagram
35.3.2 Understanding the Output of the ADXL202
35.3.3 Orienting the Accelerometer
35.3.4 Control Interface and Software
35.3.5 Additional Uses
35.4 Alternatives to Store-Bought Accelerometers
35.4.1 Constructing the Piezo Disc Accelerometer
35.4.2 Limitations of the Piezo Disc Accelerometer
35.5 From Here
Chapter 36—Home Robots and How Not to Chew Up Your Furniture
36.1 Sensing the Environment: Protecting the Furniture and the Robot
36.2 Movement Algorithms
36.3 Communicating with the Robot
36.4 From Here
Part 7—Putting It All Together
Chapter 37—Robot Tasks, Operations, and Behaviors
37.1 “What Does My Robot Do?”: A Design Approach
37.1.1 An Itinerary of Functions
37.1.2 Additional Features
37.2 Reality versus Fantasy
37.3 Understanding and Using Robot Behaviors
37.3.1 When a Behavior Is Just a Simple Action
37.3.2 Wall Following: A Common Behavior?
37.3.3 The Walt Disney Effect
37.3.4 Robotic Functions and Error Correction
37.3.5 Analyzing Sensor Data to Define Behaviors
37.4 Multiple Robot Interaction
37.5 The Role of Subsumption Architecture
37.6 From Here
Chapter 38—Integrating the Blocks
38.1 Basic Program Structure
38.2 Allocating Resources
38.2.1 I/O Pins
38.2.2 Internal Features
38.3 Getting a Program’s Attention Via Hardware
38.3.1 Timer Interrupt
38.3.2 Hardware Interrupt
38.3.3 Glass Half-Empty, Half-Full
38.4 Task-Oriented Robot Control
38.4.1 Programming for Tasks
38.4.2 Multitasking Error Modes for Optimal Flexibility
38.5 From Here
Chapter 39—Failure Analysis
39.1 Types of Failures
39.1.1 Mechanical Failure
39.1.2 Electrical Failure
39.1.3 Programming Failure
39.2 The Process of Fixing Problems
39.2.1 Documenting the Expected State
39.2.2 Characterizing the Problem
39.2.3 Hypothesizing about the Problem
39.2.4 Proposing Corrective Actions
39.2.5 Testing Fixes
39.2.6 Implementing and Releasing the Solution
39.3 From Here
Chapter 40—Setting Up Workshops, Demonstrations, and Competitions
40.1 Choosing the Venue
40.1.1 Venue Needs
40.2 Competition Events
40.2.1 Scrounging for Prizes
40.3 Alerting the Public and the Media
40.4 From Here
Appendix A—Further Reading
A.1 Hobby Robotics
A.2 LEGO Robotics and LEGO Building
A.3 Technical Robotics, Theory, and Design
A.4 Artificial Intelligence and Behavior-Based Robotics
A.5 Mechanical Design
A.6 Electronic Components
A.7 Microcontroller/Microprocessor Programming and Interfacing
A.8 Electronics How-To and Theory
A.9 Power Supply Design and Construction
A.10 Lasers and Fiber Optics
A.11 Interfacing to Computer Systems
A.12 Magazines
A.13 Classic Robot Fiction
Appendix B—Sources
B.1 Selected Specialty Parts and Sources
B.2 General Robotics Kits and Parts
B.3 Electronics/Mechanical: New, Used, and Surplus
B.4 Microcontrollers, Single-Board Computers, Programmers
B.5 Radio Control (R/C) Retailers
B.6 Servo and Stepper Motors, Controllers
B.7 Ready-Made Personal and Educational Robots
B.8 Construction Kits, Toys, and Parts
B.9 Miscellaneous
Appendix C—Robot Information on the Internet
C.1 Electronics Manufacturers
C.2 Shape-Memory Alloy
C.3 Microcontroller Design
C.4 Robotics User Groups
C.5 General Robotics Information
C.6 Books, Literature, and Magazines
C.7 Surplus Resources
C.8 Commercial Robots
C.9 Video Cameras
C.10 Ultrasonic Range Finders
C.11 LEGO Mindstorms Sources on the Web
C.12 Servo and Stepper Motor Information
C.13 Quick Turn Mechanical and Electronics Parts Manufacturers
Index
About the Authors
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