A Look at Robot Building for Beginners by David Cook
Robot Building for Beginners by David Cook serves, as to be expected, as a beginner’s guide to building a small working robot. In this case, a sandwich container comprises most of the robot’s body. So he has named the robot Sandwich. The use for Sandwich is to follow a line. Simple, yes?
I purchased and read this book in an effort to understand more about my colleagues and work at my employer, Neuron Robotics. It did not disappoint.
Do It!
In order to construct Sandwich, Cook walks the reader through various aspects of not only robot building and design, but also basic electrical engineering concepts.
While the book is certainly no substitute for even one semester of Electrical Engineering, it does help to bring some understanding to a layman like me.
In the interests of full disclosure, I majored in Philosophy in college. However, my father and father-in-law are both engineers, and my husband works as an engineering draftsman. I have heard some of these terms before.
Cook explains terms like multimeter, capacitance and resistance fairly well. This is in a lively and engaging style that never talks down to the reader.
Entertaining
It almost makes me want to try soldering again – but I’ll have to fight my coworkers to get to the soldering station.
Rating and Robot Building
Review:3/5 stars.
Cook’s good humor extends to a section showcasing equipment that he’s fried by making various mistakes. He makes it clear. Be safety-conscious and budget-conscious (he provides specifics and current pricing for most of the items used and referred to). However recognize that, sometimes, stuff is just going to happen.
You’ll break or burn things, or just not get them right the first time. Shrug it off and move on – it’s all a part of the learning experience.
The book is large and difficult to digest except in small bites. The idea is for it to be a step by step guide to Sandwich’s construction, but I think a better usage – in particular for laymen reading the book but not actually building the ‘bot – comes as a reference and resource guide.