The Books section is divided into several subcategories: Books: Online “heavyweights” that carry most every book in print Books-Electronics: Books on electronics, such as electronics the
Trang 1{ Books
Books are still the premier source of specialty
informa-tion The following sections list online bookstores,
espe-cially those that carry technical books Some of these
bookstores are also open for walk-in business through
one or more retail stores Also listed are publishers and
support Web sites for books of interest to the robot
builder
The Books section is divided into several subcategories:
Books: Online “heavyweights” that carry most
every book in print
Books-Electronics: Books on electronics, such
as electronics theory and construction
Books-Robotics: Special-interest books on
robots, robotics, and artificial intelligence
Books-Technical: General-purpose books on
technical topics
http://www.amazon.com/
The ubiquitous online retailer of books and more
Separate stores sell books, DVD and VHS movies,
kitchen and household appliances, toys (online
Toys’R’Us), computers, software, and magazine
sub-scriptions Amazon.com is strictly Internet-based and is
not a catalog mail-order company; phoning or writing
in your order is discouraged
x d V
Barnes & Noble.com 204024
http://www.bn.com/
Barnes & Noble is the largest bookseller in the world,
with retail stores and an online e-commerce Web site
Amazon Books Web page.
Barnes & Noble Web page.
They have hundreds of books on robotics and othertechnical subjects
Fatbrain.com recently teamed up with B&N.com, andconsequently, a larger selection of engineering, com-puter and technical books can be found at its Web site: http://btob.barnesandnoble.com/
5310 Chinook Ln
Madison, WI 53704USA
x V
Copyright 2003 by Gordon McComb Click Here for Terms of Use.
Trang 2USB Complete, Second Edition.
Photo Jan Axelson.
McGraw-Hill Professional 300010
http://www.books.mcgraw-hill.com/
Publishers of this book and many others on various
technical topics The Web site is divided into subjects,
and you can search for relevent books by keyword, title,
or author Books can be purchased online or through
most any book retailer
Publishers of how-to books on PIC microcontroller
pro-gramming and stepper motors Available from the
com-pany or from many online booksellers, such as
Amazon.com Titles include:
Trang 3includes a browsable catalog ofcurrent and ing books.
P.O Box 386Ambler, PA 19002USA
for-Second, it’s fun Maybe you could build a robot from avintage Philco radio
V
Lindsay’s Technical Books 203271P.O Box 538
Bradley, IL 60915-0538USA
of metalworking and foundry books, some old andsome new Also books on plastic injection molding andplastic vacuum forming
Stiquito is a small and simple robot that uses shape
memory alloy (SMA) wire for movement This is official
Stiquito Web site, maintained by author Jim Conrad,
and supports the product and several books written
AK Peters publishes intermediate- and advanced-level
books on engineering, math, physics, robotics, and
other disciplines Many oftheir books are college
textbooks, so don’t expect easy bedtime reading
Their Mobile Robots: Inspiration to Implementation
(Jones, Flynn, and Seiger) has been a standard text
for many years AK Peters also publishes the popular
(though somewhat expensive) RugWarrior kit The
books are available through booksellers; the Web site
Trang 4Lindsay's Technical Books Web site.
Online technical bookstore Also has local store in
Sacramento, Calif., area
Mail-order technical books Retail bookstore in Los
Angeles, Calif (actually, Hollywood) OPAMP calls itself
“The Technical Person’s Discount Technical
Bookstore.”
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http://members.aol.com/pidcontrol/booklet.html
Informational Web site about PID Without the Math, a
semitechnical overview of controlling servo motors
V
SAMS Technical Publishing 204248
5436 W 78th St
Indianapolis, IN 46268-3910USA
SAMS still sells Photofacts for many current and oldermodel products, including TVs, printers, and VCRs, thelatter of which is useful for robot builders becausevideo recorders are a gold mine of parts You can usethe information in the Photofact as a way to hack partsfor your robot Because most parts are reused for manymodels of VCRs, a small handful of Photofacts will serveyou for a number of VCRs you may find on the garagesale and thrift store circuit
For the Photofact products, which can be purchasedonline, see:
http://www.samswebsite.com/photofacts.html
x V
Trang 5• Secrets of Building a Vacuum Forming Machine
• Secrets of Building an Injection Molding Machine Books include:
• Vacuum Forming for the Hobbyist -Low-budget tic molding for the hobbyist
plas-• Understanding Thermoforming-An overview ofcommercial vacuum forming
• Mold Making and Casting Guides-four-book set,with sources for materials
• Prop Builders Molding and Casting Book-450 tos, covers many materials
pho-• How to Cast Your Own Plastic Parts-Cast urethaneresin into silicone molds
• Cutting Costs in Short Run Injection Molding-Makeyour own short-run tooling
x V
U.S Government Printing Office 203573
http://www.access.gpo.gov/
One of the world’s biggest (if not the biggest)
publish-ers is the U S government All sorts of pamphlets and
books are for sale here Online bookstore; GPO
book-stores are situated in major cities across the country
Among the riveting titles:
• Dielectric and Magnetic Properties of Printed
Wiring Boards and Other Substrate Materials
• Inventory of Electric Utility Power Plants in the
United States (in case your robot needs to plug in)
• Questions and Answers About EMF
• Stages to Saturn: A Technological History of the
Apollo/Saturn Launch Vehicles
At one time, GPO books were very inexpensive
com-pared to other books That trend seems to have
changed The typical “meaty” GPO book is well over
$35, and many are over $50 Also includes some
Trang 6Further Reading
Nothing beats books They're relatively cheap, and the better ones pack more tion than you'll find on a galaxy of Web pages For the robot-minded, here are some
informa-books you'll want to consider adding to your reading list These are available for
pur-chase, new or used, but don't forget the local library If a book you want isn't carried byyour library, ask the librarian if it is available from another branch Or, ask that the book beconsidered for purchase
I don't list every single robotics book, just the ones I think are most relevant to amateurrobotics Same goes for electronics and engineering texts
Online or Local
Only the more general-interest robotics books are carried in stock by local bookstores.You'll need to special order the books on higher-level robotics or else find them online.The premier sources for online books are:
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/ Best-known of the online bookstores; books can
be ranked by publication date (great for seeing what's new), bestsellers, author, title, and customer reviews.
Barnes and Noble http://www.bn.com/ The online subsidiary of the Barnes & Noble
bookstore chain Not as many robotics titles as Amazon, but the ones they have are likely to be the ones you want See also
http://btob.barnesandnoble.com/ for their technical titles.
Bookpool http://www.bookpool.com/ Not many books on robotics (or electronics or
engineering), but nice discounts.
Brown Technical http://www.brownbookshop.com/ Specializes in highly technical books Few
Bookshop robotics titles, but several engineering, math,
electrical, and associated books.
OpAmp Technical http://opampbooks.com/ Online and local Books (Los Angeles, Calif.) retailer of
technical books Limited selection of robotics books, but offers to beat Amazon's price Only lists books alphabetically.
Powells http://www.powells.com/ Offers a fair number of robotics titles; displays
the list in alphabetical order, by author, or by price Occasionally offers discounts Local stores
in Oregon.
San Diego http://www.booksmatter.com/ Online and local (San Diego, Calif.)
Technical Books book retailer Good selection, and you have the
ability to list books by publication date, author, title, or selling rank Discounts are rarely given, however.
Stacey's Booksellers http://www.staceys.com/ Online and local (San Francisco, Calif.,
Bay Area) book retailer Good selection, but not
Trang 7In the descriptions that follow, you'll see this icon, which means I personally
recom-mend this book for any well-stocked robotics library This does not mean the other books
are not recommended, useful, or good But I realize not everyone has the cash to
pur-chase, or the time to read, every single book on robotics I've limited myself to voting for
just two “recommended” books in each category (exception: children's nonfiction ics books, of which there are really no exceptional ones) If nothing else, consider thesebooks as starting points for building your own robotics reading list
developed by the author's company, a fuzzy-logic robotics operating system.
Build A Remote-Controlled Robot
David R Shircliff
Tab Books, 2002
ISBN: 0071385436
Construction plans for a remote-controlled robot vehicle
Build Your Own Combat Robot
Pete Miles, Tom Carroll
Osborne McGraw-Hill, 2002
The first in what will likely be a long line of books on building battling robots, like the ones
on BattleBots and Robotica Provides handy construction tips for heavy-duty robots, even
if you don't want to attach lawnmower blades to the thing
Build Your Own Robot!
Karl Lunt
A K Peters Ltd., 2000
ISBN: 1568811020
Reprint of the Karl's columns in Nuts & Volts magazine; the columns appeared in the early
to mid-1990s, so the text is a bit on the old side But much of it is still useful Portions of
the book get very technical, so don't try this one if you're a beginner.
Introduction to Robotics, An
Harprit S Sandhu
Nexus Special Interest Ltd., 1997
ISBN: 1854861530
Nice entry-level guide to robotics, including the construction of a servo-operated robot
Muscle Wires Project Book
Roger G Gilbertson
Mondo-Tronics, 2000
Trang 8ISBN: 1879896141
Book and kit about "Muscle Wires," a brand of shape memory alloy available from the
author's company (Mondo-tronics) Projects include Boris, a walking robot
Personal Robot Navigator, The
Miller, Winkless, Phelps, Bosworth
Robot project book using the PIC microcontroller as the central brain
Practical Robotics: Principles and Applications
Robot Building for Beginners
A unique series of books on robotics construction Each book, aimed at the intermediate
to advanced roboteer, details a specific aspect of construction I acted as series editor(with Myke Predko) and contributed to several of the books
Robots, Androids and Animatrons, Second Edition
John Iovine
McGraw-Hill, 2001
ISBN: 0071376836
Several entry-level projects, including a small six-legged walking robot
Stiquito for Beginners: An Introduction to Robotics
James M Conrad, Jonathan W Mills
IEEE Computer Society Press, 2000
ISBN: 0818675144
Trang 9Stiquito: Advanced Experiments with a Simple and Inexpensive Robot
James M Conrad, Jonathan W Mills
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, 1997
ISBN: 0818674083
Beginner and advanced books on constructing small, legged robots using shape memoryalloy wire (e.g., BioMetal, Nitinol, Dynalloy, or Muscle Wires) Both books contain thebasic parts you'll need to build the sample robot
LEGO Robotics and LEGO Building
Building Robots with Lego Mindstorms
Mario Ferrari, Giulio Ferrari, Ralph Hempel
Syngress Media Inc, 2001
Extreme Mindstorms: An Advanced Guide to Lego Mindstorms
Dave Baum et al
APress, 2000
1893115844
Collection of intermediate-level topics on LEGO Mindstorms The chapters are written by
a variety of well-known Mindstorms experts
Jin Sato's Lego Mindstorms: The Master's Technique
Jin Sato
No Starch Press, 2002
ISBN: 1886411565
Advanced-level LEGO Mindstorms robots, such as a robotic dog
Joe Nagata's Lego Mindstorms Idea Book
Joe Nagata
No Starch Press, 2001
ISBN: 1886411409
Intended to both inspire and inform, this book is aimed at the intermediate- and
advanced-LEGO roboteers Few of the designs in Joe's book could be considered “theusual stuff.”
Trang 10Unofficial Guide to LEGO Mindstorms Robots
Jonathan B Knudsen
O'Reilly & Associates, 1999
ISBN: 1565926927
Author Jonathan Knudsen captures the early enthusiasm and awe of the LEGO
Mindstorms and provides a potpourri of ideas and concepts Some fun designs
Technical Robotics, Theory and Design
Computational Principles of Mobile Robotics
Gregory Dudek, Michael Jenkin
Cambridge University Press, 2000
ISBN: 0521568765
Math-heavy with an emphasis on computation and algorithms, intended for advanced
undergraduate and graduate students studying mobile robotics
Mobile Robots: Inspiration to Implementation
Joseph L Jones, Anita M Flynn, Bruce A Seiger
A K Peters Ltd, 1999
ISBN: 1568810970
Hands-on guidebook to constructing mobile robots Offers two main projects: Tutebot,which introduces basic mobile robot concepts, and Rug Warrior, based on the MotorolaMC68HC11 microcontroller As presented, Tutebot is too expensive to build for what it
does (the authors recommend motors that retail for about $30 each), but you can build itwith other components for a lot less
Robot Evolution: The Development of Anthrobotics
Mark Rosheim
John Wiley & Sons, 1994
ISBN: 0471026220
Technical overview on robots and robot systems For the hard core
Robotic Explorations: An Introduction to Engineering Through Design
Sensors for Mobile Robots: Theory and Application
Trang 11Robotics Essays and Overviews
Age of Spiritual Machines, The
Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us
Rodney Allen Brooks
Pantheon Books, 2002
ISBN: 0375420797
Penned by a respected robotics pioneer from MIT, Flesh and Machines explores the
com-ing of sentient becom-ings and how human becom-ings will be forever changed by it Parts of Dr.Brooks's vision are chilling, others parts are inspiring
construc-Robo Sapiens
Peter Menzel, Faith D'Aluisio
MIT Press, 2000
ISBN: 0262133822
Beautiful full-color encyclopedia on robotics Available as a hardcover "coffee table" book
or softbound You'll want keep this one for a long time, so get the hardcover
Robot in the Garden, The
Ken Goldberg
MIT Press, 2000
ISBN: 0262072033
A collection of essays on remotely controlled robotics: telerobotics and telepistemology,
controlled via communications links like the Internet See also the author's Beyond
Webcams (MIT Press, 2001; ISBN: 0262072254).
Robot Riots: The Good Guide to Bad Bots
Alison Bing, Erin Conley
Dorset Press, 2001
ISBN: 0760730008
Trang 12Quick review of combat robots, of the BattleBots ilk
Artificial Intelligence and Behavior-Based Robotics
Artificial Intelligence and Mobile Robots
D Kortenkamp, R P Bonasso, R Murphy
Cambrian Intelligence: The Early History of the New AI
Rodney Allen Brooks
Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind
Hans Moravec
Oxford University Press, 2000
ISBN: 0195116305
A speculative but informed look at one possible future with intelligent robots Written by a
professor at Carnegie Mellon University See also the author's Mind Children: The Future
of Robot and Human Intelligence (Harvard Univ Press, 2000; ISBN: 0674576187).
Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology
Valentino Braitenberg
MIT Press, 1986
ISBN: 0262521121
Trang 13A small but highly influential book on how simple machines can mimic living organisms
Robot Books for Children
Artificial Intelligence: Robotics and Machine Evolution
David Jefferis
Crabtree Pub, 1999
ISBN: 0778700569
A look at robotics through the lens of artificial intelligence Ages: 9–12
Inventor's Handbook: Robots
Bobbi Searle
Silver Dolphin, 2000
ISBN: 1571454187
Thirty-two-page book and kit for building a cardboard and plastic robot Ages: 9–12
Robots Among Us: The Challenges and Promises of Robots
in the home "lab," and the example tools are common Sherline desktop mills and lathes
Illustrated Sourcebook of Mechanical Components
Robert O Parmley (editor)
Trang 14Overview of mechanical construction of common components, such as motors and ages.
link-Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook
Neil Sclater, Nicholas P Chironis
McGraw-Hill, 2001
ISBN: 0071361693
Over 2,500 mechanical devices elements and 1,200 illustrations Never wonder how
something works; look it up in this terrific resource Special chapters on robotic systems,couplings and linkages, gears, and pneumatics
The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting Handbook
Example-driven tutorial on programming the Basic Stamp
Design with PIC Microcontrollers
John B Peatman
Prentice Hall, 1997
ISBN: 0137592590
Trang 15Entry-level text for hardware designers on how to use the Microchip PICmicro trollers.
microcon-Easy Pic'N: A Beginner's Guide to Using PIC16/17 Microcontrollers
David Benson
Square One Electronics, 1999
ISBN: 0965416208
Entry-level book on using the Microchip PIC microcontroller Programming examples are
in assembly language See also PIC'n Up the Pace: An Intermediate Guide to Using PIC
Microcontrollers (1999, ISBN: 0965416216) and PIC'n Techniques, PIC Microcontroller Applications Guide (1999, ISBN: 0965416232), both by the same author, and Serial PIC'n: PIC Microcontroller Serial Communications (Roger L Stevens, 1999, ISBN: 0965416224).
All are published by Square One Electronics
Microcontroller Application Cookbook, The
Matt Gilliland, Ken Gracey
Microcontroller Projects Using the Basic Stamp, Second Edition
Al Williams
CMP Books, 2002
ISBN: 1578201012
Using the Basic Stamp microcontroller
PIC Microcontroller Project Book
How to program the PIC microcontroller Includes CD-ROM See also PICmicro
Microcontroller Pocket Reference (2000; ISBN: 0071361758) and Programming and Customizing the 8051 Microcontroller (1999, ISBN: 0071341927) by the same author and
publisher
Programming and Customizing the AVR Microcontroller
Dhananjay V Gadre
Trang 16Tab Books, 2000
ISBN: 007134666X
Entry-level volume on using the Atmel AVR 8-bit microcontrollers Includes a CD-ROM
with program examples, with special sections on interfacing the AVR via serial, USB, andIrDA
Programming and Customizing the Basic Stamp
All about using the venerable Motorola MC68HC11 microcontroller
Electronics How-to and Theory
Art of Electronics, The
Paul Horowitz, Winfield Hill
Cambridge Univ Press, 1989
ISBN: 0521370957
Student Manual for the Art of Electronics
Paul Horowitz, T Hayes
Cambridge Univ Press, 1989
ISBN: 0521377099
The Art of Electronics, and its companion student workbook, are the standard texts for
electronics in many schools Fairly laden with theory and math, the books are less aimed at a general academic and hobbyist audience
neverthe-Bebop to the Boolean Boogie
Clive Max Maxfield
LLH Technology Pub, 1995
ISBN: 1878707221
Unconventional approach (including humorous illustrations) to teaching logic circuits
Readable and quite engrossing An extensive index makes it easy to locate important
Like the title says: how to read schematics For beginners
Build Your Own Low-Cost Data Acquisition and Display Devices
Jeffrey Hirst Johnson
Tab Books, 1993
ISBN: 0830643486
Specializes in data acquisition on PC-compatible computers
Trang 17CMOS Cookbook
Don Lancaster
Newnes, 1997
ISBN: 0750699434
One of two desk references no electronics hobbyist or engineer should be without The
other is TTL Cookbook (Sams; 1980 ISBN: 0672210355), also by Don Lancaster You can
read much more from Don at his Web site: http://www.tinaja.com/.
Electronic Circuit Guidebook (various volumes)
Joseph J Carr
Delmar Learning
Volume 1: Sensors; 1997, ISBN: 0790610981
Volume 2: IC Timers; 1997, ISBN: 0790611066
Volume 3: Op Amps; 1997, ISBN: 0790611317
Volume 4: Electro Optics; 1997, ISBN: 0790611325
Volume 5: Digital Electronics; 1998; ISBN: 0790611295
Reference books on various electronics topics of interest to all engineers
Forrest Mims Engineer's Notebook, The
Forrest M Mims, Harry L Helms
LLH Technology Pub, 1993
ISBN: 1878707035
Most anyone involved in electronics knows Forrest Mims, a prolific writer who has
authored numerous magazine articles, columns, and books since the 1960s The Forrest
Mims Engineer's Notebook is a compilation of how-to and circuit design guidance and is
suitable for all students of electronics See also from the same author The Forrest Mims
Circuit Scrapbook (2000; ISBN: 1878707493).
IC Op-Amp Cookbook
Walter G Jung
Prentice Hall PTR, 1998
ISBN: 0138896011
Various ways op-amps can be used in circuits More of a reference
Logicworks 4: Interactive Circuit Design Software for Windows and
Covers various techniques for constructing prototype circuit boards
Practical Electronics for Inventors
Paul Scherz
Tab Books, 2000
ISBN: 0070580782
Trang 18A unique book with a unique angle, this text demonstrates the hows and whys of tronics circuits for people who may not want to learn all the nitty-gritty details The bookstill has some technical formulas, but the emphasis (like the title says) is on practical elec-tronics.
elec-Printed Circuit Board Materials Handbook
Martin W Jawitz (editor)
McGraw-Hill, 1997
ISBN: 0070324883
Intended for the electronics professional, this book covers various materials and
tech-niques used in printed circuit board manufacture
Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics
Stan Gibilisco
Tab Books, 2001
ISBN: 0071377301
Introduction to electronics, with self-test exercises
Interfacing to IBM PC (and compatibles)
Parallel Port Complete
same author and publisher:
Serial Port Complete; 1998, ISBN: 0965081923
USB Complete; 2001, ISBN: 0965081958
Trang 19Use of a PC Printer Port for Control & Data Acquisition
Robotics and Electronics Magazines
General-interest electronics magazine
Everyday Practical Electronics
General-interest electronics project magazine
Nuts & Volts Magazine
Robot Science and Technology
3875 Taylor Road, Ste 200
Loomis, CA 95650
http://www.robotmag.com/
Trang 20An excellent but irregularly published magazine on amateur robotics Subscription is forsix issues, but there's no guarantee when the issues will come out Perhaps it's best tobuy back issues, and the current issue at the regular cover price, as it comes available
Robot Fiction
Many robot builders are also interested in fictional tales about robots As judging fiction isfar more subjective than nonfiction, and because some of the best works of robot fictionare old and/or out of print, I won't presume to list specific books here for adult fiction
Instead, I'll just summarize some of the more relevant works and authors
• Isaac Asimov The stories in I, Robot ushered in a new era of robotics storytelling.
Asimov's famous "Three Laws of Robotics" were first introduced in these stories (the
book is a compilation of shorts published in magazines such as Astounding) The bulk
of robot fiction before this time painted robots as evil, a manifestation of the
out-of-control mechanized world people were living in during the first half of the twentieth
cen-tury Asimov wrote extensively about robots; see The Rest of the Robots, The
Bicentennial Man, The Robots of Dawn, The Complete Robot, and many others.
• Brian Aldiss One of my personal favorites, Aldiss forces a darker look at robotics and our relationship with them A seminal work is But Who Can Replace a Man, a collection
of shorts published in 1958
• Philip K Dick Where Asimov was optimistic about robotics, Philip K Dick was
pes-simistic (he arguably might have more realistic, as well) The movie Bladerunner was inspired by a Philip K Dick story, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, a tale about
"replicants"—engineered biological creatures who look just like humans, but aren't
allowed rights While replicants aren't robots per se, the story deals with many of thesame ethical questions being raised today about sentient machines: Do they have thesame rights as humans, even though they aren't "real"? Dick also wrote about robots
in Second Variety, Imposter, Martian Time Slip, Autofac, and several other novels and
short stories
• Jack Williamson In a career than spanned many years, Williamson wrote two of the
most influential fictional works on robots: The Humanoids (1949) and With Folded
Hands (1947) Both were about a benign race of androids that take over the work, and
spirit, of their human subjects
• Stanislaw Lem Lem's 1974 collection of robot short stories, The Cyberiad: Fables for
the Cybernetic Age, is part fiction, part satire Nothing is sacred, not even Asimov's
Three Laws of Robotics
• Clifford D Simak Of particular interest, look for City (1952), where the Earth is inhabited
by old robotic cats, dogs, and other machines, and Time and Again (1951), an
allegori-cal tale of robot slaves seeking to free themselves
• Ron Goulart Robots that don't work right Goulart's books on faltering contraptions are
hilarious, but I also understand they are an acquired taste Try one out to see if you likeit
• Ray Bradbury One of the best-known science fiction authors of all time, Bradbury has
written a number of short stories and novels about robots, often taking a look at their
dark side A number of thought-provoking robot stories can be found in I Sing the Body
Electric! (1969); more can be found in The Illustrated Man and Long After Midnight story
collections
• David Gerrold A gifted novelist and television writer (he penned the Trouble with
Tribbles episode for the original Star Trek TV series), David's work has spanned a wide
gamut of topics His novel When Harlie Was One (also noted with variations, such as
When H.A.R.L.I.E Was One) is about a self-learning machine, growing and maturing