Applied Robotics I [Paperback]

Those familiar with Gordon McComb's 'Robot Builder's Bonanza' know that he interacts with and leverages off of developments in the hobby robotics community, soliciting ideas from readers and referring them to a plethora of resources outside of himself. Edwin Wise's 'Applied Robotics' is more of a one-man show. Whereas 'Bonanza' provides individual chapters devoted to describing three different MCUs, and allows the reader to use his / her own judgment in selecting one, Wise relies exclusively on the Atmel AT8515. Though very good, Atmel is not the most common choice among amateur roboticists, and this will limit the reader's ability to find kindred spirits in clubs or cyberspace when the inevitable questions arise. Nor is the AT8515 a beginner's MCU. All of the book's code samples are written in a single, proprietary programming language developed by the author himself, called Fuzbol. This language incorporates fuzzy logic capabilities as its primary feature, and for those interested in fuzzy logic, Wise provides a more complete introduction than I have seen elsewhere. However, "[m]ath in Fuzbol is very slow," Wise says on p. 165. "[D]ivision is the worst, then multiplication. The slowest of all is real-valued math and it is best to avoid it unless necessary." In the preface, Wise refers to Applied Robotics as a beginner's guide, and as a book that may provide new ideas and techniques for the advanced builder. I would actually call this an intermediate-level hobbyist's guide. The advanced builder is familiar with almost all of the concepts addressed, while the bona fide beginner is likely to have difficulty with much of what lies beyond Chapter 6. Wise assumes his readers are familiar with computers and electronic circuits. If you do not know what 'edge-triggered' means, what a quad NOR gate is, or what a pullup is, you will need to do some remedial work with outside materials before you will understand this book. Wise's readers really should have ready access to a PC; Mac users are discouraged on p. 118. The program listings at the end of the book are designed to generate robotic behaviors such as 'aggression' (charging a light source), 'fear' (avoiding a light source), 'love', 'insecurity' and others. I really enjoyed Chapter 13, which treats pneumatics. Unlike other authors, Wise describes pneumatics in terms of circuits, providing interesting schematic conventions for air instead of electrons that I have not seen in other books. I also enjoyed Chapter 11, which deals mainly with sensors. Overall, I am pleased that I read the book. I would not personally rely upon it as a primary source, as I rely on 'Bonanza'. I am wary of its reliance on a single MCU, of its reliance on a proprietary language, and of the fact that readers who follow the book's guidelines ultimately produce only a system more or less identical to Wise's rather than one of their own design, but I value Applied Robotics as an addition to my library and as a reference source.

This book is wonderful for the small time robot enthusiast. It starts from scratch, with the basics so anyone can follow along, and moves into more advanced and interesting robot behaviors. I built a small mobile robot and bought his kit, and now have a fully programmed robot that I can tinker with. It also includes a great programming language fuzBol that uses fuzzy logic, and some great ideas for future experiments.

I used this book in conjunction with Gordon McComb's Robot Builder's Bonanza. The book provides step by step instructions for building a mobile robot and in doing so eliminates most of the apprehensions of a beginning robot builder. The book is somewhat specific and is not very detailed. The author however, is extermely helpful and responsive to questions and problems encountered. I e-mailed him numerous times and received immediate responses- the deciding factor in making this a five star book.