How to Make a Robot Paperback – April 24, 2018

love it so much buy it!!!

This is a short (52 pages) book describing how to build a robot using the Arduino Uno microcontroller board and a few other components. The "How to Make a Robot Kit" is available from Maker Shed but if you have the book and an Arduino Uno, you can order the parts separately. A list of parts is included in the book. The book is well written and it has lots of illustrations. Building a robot and running the Arduino "sketches" (programs) for which a download link is provided was a fun experience. Unlike some other how-to books that I worked through in the past, the code and building instructions are accurate and detailed enough to result in a working robot. The robot avoids obstacles using bumper switches or ultra-sonic sound, follows a line, or responds to commands from a TV remote. I particularly like the choice of the servos driving the wheels. While not inexpensive, the servos move the wheels better than motors and gears I worked with in the past. Gordon McComb is one of the more experienced writers about robotics and it shows in this book. Because soldering, using a hot-glue gun and cutting with a blade knife are required, it is not suitable for younger robot builders. One negative: I missed an "additional notes/errata" section on the book's support web page. For instance, the RemoteBotSound sketch has an issue with sound generation interfering with handling remote control commands. But that was the only sketch that have problems.