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BOOKS ON
EXPERIMENTAL ROBOTICS
by Tom Carroll
Good reference books on any
particular subject are vital for
anyone who really wants to know
more about the topic, and robotics
is no exception. The Internet can give
you access to a lot of great
information, but a good set of books
on robotics is necessary to delve far
into this exciting field. I’d like to
discuss a history, of sorts, of some of
the books that made the greatest
impression on me for the past 30
years or so. As you can imagine, my
choices for a great series of books on
robotics might not be what you’d
choose. I’ll also deviate a bit into
some of the technology that made a
particular book such a success. Some
of the books I’ll mention are quite
outdated but all still contain real gems
of information that will help us all in
our robot building. I’m going to
concentrate on experimental robotics,
though Joe Engelberger’s 1980 classic
— Robotics in Practice — about
industrial robotics, should be on the
bookshelves of any serious robotics
engineer and/or experimenter.
Build Your Own
Working Robot
Back in the ‘70s, there were very
few books on robotics outside some
of the more scholarly tomes for
industrial applications, or particular
specialties within the small, but
growing field. While browsing a
technical bookstore near my home in
1976, I happened across a book
entitled Build Your Own Working
Robot by David L. Heiserman,
published by TAB Books. All I could
think of was, “wow, somebody has
finally written a hobbyist level book on
the subject of robotics!” I had built
some crude robots before then, but a
robot with true, logic control sounded
great. Prior to this, my idea of ‘logic’
for one of my robots was a series of
interconnected relays, hardwired into
something that managed to work only
part of the time. I bought the book
on the spot and read through it cover
to cover.
David called his robot Buster and
attempted to make it into a class of
robots that a lot of people would
refer to. I personally never knew
anyone who used that name for their
robot, preferring to call their own
creation whatever they desired. His
robot design was buildable and it
worked, and it could be modified
to the builder’s own desires. He
introduced a lot of people to hobby
robotics and compelled many
experimenters — myself included — to
delve into digital electronics. I had
previously read a book entitled Basic
Basic by Hayden Books and wired up
a few experiments in conjunction with
a PDP- 11 computer at work, but knew
I could never use one in a robot. The
popular 7400 series of ICs coupled
with 555/556s connected to relays
started to make robots possible.
David’s robot was based on a
child’s riding car and used two
motors: one to drive a rear wheel and
the other to steer the Ackerman-type
wheels. (Typical car steering —
two front wheels steered.)
In the early ‘70s, microprocessors
had far less computing power than
today’s microcontrollers that are
so popular with today’s robot
experimenters. Intel’s 4004 of 1971 —
considered the first microprocessor —
was rapidly followed by their 8008
and then the 8080 in 1974 — the chip
that gave Bill Gates his start. (Would
you believe that the 8080 processor
chip alone cost $395 in 1973?)
Motorola’s 6800, Zilog’s Z80, and
MOS Technology’s 6502 came next
and powered many a robot in those
years and early 80’s. But Heiserman’s
book allowed builders to make a
seemingly-intelligent machine with
just a handful of logic ICs.
If you could ignore the poor
quality photographs and the
continual references to ‘Buster’ this
and ‘Buster’ that, the book was a real
jewel for a robot hobbyist. David’s
robot used a 556 dual timer circuit
driving NAND gates which, in turn,
drove the ever popular 2N3055
power transistor to produce three
different drive speeds: a slow of 75%;
a medium of 90%; and a high speed
of 100% duty cycle PWM signal. His
‘blunder’ interface gave the robot a
way of hitting an obstacle and turning
away to go another direction. He
later added a hunger alarm to tell the
operator when the robot needed
charging, data links, line tracking,
and a nesting instinct. It was a
great book back in 1976 when you
could do wonders with TTL logic and
op-amp ICs.
SERVO 06.2008 77
