Robotics Books

My overall impression with this book is: satisfactory. Though there are a more errors then desired, and a few that are pretty confusing, the majority of the book is accurate and very instructive. I would recommend this book as a reference for introductory treatment of Linear System Theory and DI just completed this book in the beginning of March. Having a Controls background I found this book both helpful and instructive, yet lacking in sufficient detailed explanation on some tough topics. Chapter 2: 'Mathematical Descriptions of Systems' was very helpful with the detailed definitions and easy examples. Chapter 3: 'Linear Algebra' is a chapter that could use expanding. Some of the topics addressed in this section are speedily discussed and rapidly completed. The first edition of this book was chided for it length. This edition must be chided for it brevity. However, when lack of explanation abounds, examples and homework problems can make up for deficient instruction. Chapters 4 through 6 are easy to follow and through in their treatment. Chapter 7, however, is another chapter where too much explanation was removed. The examples are hard to follow in this chapter, and there are a few very confusing mistakes. Chapters 8 and 9 are very well written, though confused at times. However, they yield a sufficient knowledge of the addressed topics.

My overall impression with this book is: satisfactory. Though there are a more errors then desired, and a few that are pretty confusing, the majority of the book is accurate and very instructive. I would recommend this book as a reference for introductory treatment of Linear System Theory and Design.esign.

I found this book to be inadequate at all levels. It does not go into sufficient detail for beginners, and neither does it provide rigor for the experienced controls student. Do yourself a favor and buy separate texts for the basics (like Brogan's Modern Control Theory) and for the advanced.

Up to this time,there are no 5 stars books in Linear Systems. However, this book is one of the best 4 stars books available for the subject. Through the book, the author sometimes assumes that you know or understand some topic, formula,...etc. without mentioning it. However,you can do it, but it may take you some time to figure out what it is. If you are good enough in linear algebra you will have no problems to handle the book up to the last page. Chapter 2 & 3 are the most important chapters in the book because they prepare you for the rest of the book. MATLAB is being used in a nice and helpful way to visualize some concepts and applications of the linear control theory. I recommend this book as a textbook for an introductory linear systems course and also for self teaching purposes.

The cool thing about this book is that it is heavy on the Math based primarily on the research on mathematical theory in robotics(may I say at Caltech). Make sure you read up your advanced math books especially on manifold theory to get a better understanding as to what it all means. But overall, the math is fun and interesting. Highly recommend this book with Craig's introduction to robotics.

This books deals with all kinds of manipulators. It has a good amount of math but looks not enough and not easy to understand (I did not go into the math details). I think this book would be a good reference in your library where it has a good amount of advanced information about manipulators.

For decades, physics and engineering undergraduates have used texts on classical mechanics that often contained what some students might consider to be abstruse ideas, with little everyday usage. But this book on robotics is a worthy rejoinder. It can be regarded as an advanced text in classical mechanics.

It shows how mathematical treatments of rigid and non-rigid body rotations and displacements are necessary to correctly model robot manipulators. Plus how holonomic constraints can be used to determine system behaviour. Engineering students also get exposure to the use of Lagrange's equation in robotics. Typically nowadays, Lagrange's equation is taught in pure physics courses, with engineering undergrads having little need for it.

One implication is that some students might need to upgrade their maths background before turning to this book. (Maybe you should have paid more attention in some classes!)

Do not believe what others say about this book . I have personally read this book and it is a great book on instrumentation and controls . You will learn much from reading this book than by browsing through other tomes . This book will take you days to read and you will learn much much more than other books . Material is explained beautifully and it is a joy and pleasure to read . If you want to make best use of your time , buy this book . It is worth every cent of your money .

For those of us looking for new up-to-date technical information in the process field we will have to go elsewhere. This book contains the same basic information as in the first edition. While it has some good material for learning beginning theoretical process control at the technical level it is a waste of money if you are interested in modern technology.

This was one of the first books i read on process control.Whether or not you should buy the book would depend on what your course demands.

The beauty of the book lies in its lucidity which shows the authors understanding of all the sensors and instruments...the book stresses on the principles of working of all the instruments. i understood every single transducer I learnt about in the book.Another plus point of the book is that it is self-sufficient, in that you dont have to take another book while reading this one.It starts off by discussing all that you need to know about OP-Amp circuits for process control and even digital electronics.

My course in Process Control demanded a very high degree of detail in most of the process control mechnanisms and transducers so i didnt find everything I needed in this book.But it covered my syllabus to the greatest extent of all the books and explained it in a beautiful manner.

ROBOTICS is a top pick for college-level collections strong in engineering applications and industrial engineering based on robotic technology, and will appeal to both students and practicing engineering techs working in the field. The major robot classifications are surveyed, with chapters covering basic concepts, mechanics and electronics alike, and kinematics. The technical depth of the survey makes it a highly recommended pick for any college-level holding with courses on the topic.

This book was published in 2007 and the back cover says it is "up-to-date" but the material is very old. For example, the very first chapter talks about the M2 robot at the MIT Leglab "currently being developed" but the M2 web site has not been updated since 2001.

Chapter 3 discusses basic electronics but uses the 8051 as an example of a microcontroller. This chip must be at least 10 years old and is nowhere near state of the art. The chapter runs to almost 90 pages out of 340, more than a quarter of the book, and is more than the three chapters on kinematics combined (4, 5 and 7).

The figures do not have captions in most cases and are not referenced in the text. All the figures are supposed to be on the CD, but most of them are missing and many of the ones that are there do not appear in the book.

There are no citations at all, so it is very difficult to tell how current some of the references are.

The CD-ROM does not contain all of the items mentioned in the book, such as the Turtle program. An entire appendix is devoted to a listing of this program, which is dated 2004 in the text, and is written in Turbo C for DOS! In fact, there are several locations in the book where there is a CD-ROM icon, but no corresponding code on the CD.

The Matlab code on the CD ranges in age from 2003 to 2007. Other programs on the CD to demonstrate kinematics are DOS programs from 1996!

I cannot believe that anyone could publish such a poorly edited collection of outdated material. I bought this book based on two 5-star ratings. In my opinion it is only worth 1 star, and that is for the coverage of basic mechanics and kinematics which never go out of date.

This book is very thorough with the content. It is very easy to understand and very informative

Mr. Cox writes a very good review and, while I of course enjoy the warm glow of 5-star reviews, his 3-stars make sense in his context. You might even say three stars are generous, if you wanted this book as a hands-on guide to making a full robot right now.

In his review he asks the rhetorical question "...including Cam Control and Card Control - who seriously uses this anymore?", and I have a practical answer.

Everybody! Cams can be found everywhere!

Okay, now a serious answer. I took the title seriously; I wanted to demystify robotics -- so I tried to find basic, fundamental illustrations to show the concepts involved in robotics. Cam control? To illustrate sequential control, a form of programming. Punch cards? As the camel's nose into the tent of information representation, or some such thing.

Was this the right approach or not? Only the individual reader can decide; as an author, I take a chance, I shoot my ideas out into the air, and sometimes I hit the target and sometimes I miss.

The main problem Mr. Cox seems to have with the text is the lack of complex circuits, examples, robot programming, or any actual complete robots! For these needs there are lots of excellent existing books on the shelves... in fact, any one robotic technology requires a full book to do it justice.

I didn't want to write yet another robot or electronics cookbook. Instead, I wrote this -- a book with a different goal and perspective than what I already saw on the market. A book that tries to demystify what it means to be a robot, and to provide a look at the technologies and ideas that go into the making of a robot, with a number of simple examples to illustrate them. A book not targeted so much at the experimenter or builder, but to the curious and to the person who may be getting their very first look at the topic.

As for the cover descriptions and marketing blurbs -- alas, an author doesn't have much to say about those, and they often miss the intent of the book.

Edwin!

A breezy little book that gives a general explanation of how to make your own robots. Very much a hobbyist's flavour, with a hands on approach emphasised. Wise tries to take a lot of the mystique out of the subject. He downplays any complexity in the design. This may ultimately limit what you can get out of the book. But if you have never had any prior exposure to robotics, it is still not a bad choice for a first text.

The folks at McGraw Hill graciously sent me a copy of Edwin Wise's new book, Robotics Demystified, for me to review. Unfortunately, I got it right around the time that I left for Hong Kong (study abroad) and I'm just now getting around to actually reviewing it.

The title calls it a "self-teaching guide" and the back cover reads; "Now anyone with an interest in robotics can gain a deeper understanding - without formal training, unlimited time, or genius IQ." So, I cracked open the book to find out if this is true or not.

Demystified is a relatively short 295 pages and contains 18 chapters. Example chapter names include, "Simple Machines", "Starting with Electronics", and "Intelligent Behavior." It is clear from the beginning that Wise is targeting this book to the complete novice. He says in the Preface, "There is no one 'robot technology,' so this book breaks the study of robots down into technology categories: the mechanics and framework of the robot, the electronics that make up its brain and nerves, and the control systems and programming that gives the robot life." Each chapter concludes with quiz questions to test your knowledge of each chapter.

The book starts off at a pretty low level (mechanical forces) and slowly (very slowly) builds on the knowledge. The forces chapter, and the following, "Simple Machines" discuss basic mechanical systems. All the mechanical systems described in the book deal only with LEGO pieces, so the reader never actually sees any other type of building materials. The mechanical systems are also presented as individual units and aren't ever assembled into a comprehensive "overall" system (aka, an actual robot).

After an introduction to mechanical systems (which is where Wise really shines) the book turns towards electronics and spends an entire chapter discussing the building blocks of electronics (electrons, electric fields, magnetic fields, etc.) in what seems a bit too low level for most robot hobbyist's needs. Another disappointment was the chapter on circuits, which was sadly lacking in basic tools for analyzing circuits and their behavior (it only contained a brief description of Ohm's law).

Another chapter dealt entirely with sequencing and programming, including Cam Control and Card Control - who seriously uses this anymore? The discussion on binary systems was also brief. The chapter on control systems didn't even mention block diagrams and discussed closed-loop feedback systems without any good examples in robotics (a good one would be a motor driver).

Another chapter was devoted to semiconductors, with discussion of BJT's and FET's, but this was sadly disconnected from real-world applications and circuits. Which, is the biggest problem I have with this book - there isn't any real world applications in robotics. The book lacked any discussion of sensors or microcontrollers, and only mentioned programming in a high-level way. There were no pictures of actual robots anywhere in the book.

I would say this book is definitely not for true beginners. It will only leave them more frustrated and confused. It builds a very nice foundation, but stops there, leaving the beginner to find yet another resource to link all the pieces together. Robotics Demystified only succeeds in clouding the really difficult part - putting everything together into a working robot.

If you're an "advanced beginner" this book might be for you, to enhance your knowledge, but if you're completely clueless, stay away.

My disappointment with this book is caused by the following:

1) Both authors are NASA insiders and offer no thoughts whatsoever on the ongoings outside of NASA. The space efforts of both other countries and the private sector is ignored. This is a most grave blunder in the light of the progress made in the last decade in the private sector as well as the success of European space probes.

2) The focus of the book is entirely on NASA and what NASA might do in the future.

3) The book starts with the "False Dichotomy" between robotics against human space travel but does not present the reader with any good reason why these strategies are compatible.

4) The book fails miserably to describe the events between what is known to informed reader at present and up until the event of "posthuman space flight". Basically they go from a tedious recollection of known facts to the most free-flight fantasy.

5) In the closing chapters the authors try to come up with a "New Space Paradigm" which has nothing new whatsoever about it.

Conclusion: "Robots in Space" is an irrelevant piece of drivel. Personally I am surprised this book made it to publishing.

The book's title and its jacket -- image of "Spirit" Mars Rover, -- imply that it is a history and/or forecast of robotic space exploration. Actually it is more than anything else a history of "robots vs. humans debate" -- the longstanding argument among space-related comminuty in United States over the best way to explore space.

In first two thirds of the book Launius and McCurdy trace last 50 years of spaceflight through the lens of this debate, and of cultural assumptions of both sides. They do not exactly take sides, but claim that as 21st Century rolled around both technological and social trends are favoring the "robotic exploration" camp -- even without actively advocating it. The last third is given to the notions of transhumanism -- biological and mechanical augmentation of human body and mind, and how it applies to space travel. Ultimately the authors reveal (actually, they hint on it early on) their own answer to "robots or humans?" question: and the answer is "cyborgs". Baseline humans are too fragile to function in space, and machines alone are too uninspiring. Ultimately, Launius and McCurdy believe, space belongs to merger of both.

The book is very well researched, and presentation is convincing, although repetitive in places. "Tortoise and hare" analogy (applied to robotic and manned US space programs, respectively) grew a bit annoying with repetition, and Chapter 6 which speculates on interstellar flight seemed to me shoehorned in for no good reason. Hence 4 stars.

For as long as there have been humans, there has been a push outward to explore and inhabit new lands. It seems to be something we are programmed to do. When new worlds (or a New World) was discovered, settlers moved in to make them their own. The Earth is pretty well settled, and we have nowhere else to move, unless we start going to other planets entirely. We have just barely started exploring these distant unearthly worlds, but our ventures have already caused a big debate in the philosophy of exploration: should it be by humans or by robots? _In Robots in Space: Technology, Evolution, and Interplanetary Travel_ (The Johns Hopkins University Press), a couple of experts on the history of space exploration and space policies, Roger D. Launius and Howard E. McCurdy, summarize the debate and give surprising answers and speculation into what the future may hold. Their predictions and their solutions require imagination to understand, at the level of science fiction, and indeed their book frequently draws upon science fiction novels and movies for depictions of imaginary answers to future problems. It makes for entertaining reading, especially for someone like me who had not previously realized how much serious thought has gone into the debate about robots, space exploration, and the future of humans in space.

At the dawn of the space age, besides working on America's rocket program, Wernher von Braun wrote popular articles that emphasized humans in space as a continuation of America's tradition of exploration and settlement. The authors point out that such utopian visions have often been part of terrestrial exploration, and that they continue to fire the imaginations of those who want to see humans in space. Von Braun's vision stalled. Sending humans into space for military purposes turned out to be unnecessary. Even the Space Shuttle program was not consistent with the aims of the utopians. It might have been part of von Braun's vision of being transport to a space station, but it was essentially a "space truck" with little potential for getting us to other worlds. Of course von Braun relied on machines to get humans into space, but his plan greatly underestimated how good our robots were going to get, and how quickly they would fill commercial, military, and exploratory needs. It is still expensive to send robots into space, but they do not require money to be spent on life support, and in particular, they do not have to return to Earth to get their jobs done, while humans need to get back home. Maybe, however, there will be humans that don't need to make the return trip, and maybe the robot / human dilemma is a false one, one that could be resolved by combining the two. Take the durability and limited needs of robots and combine them with the adaptability and intellect of humans, and you start thinking about what is called transhumanism or posthumanism. This includes cyborgs (from "cybernetic organism") and there may be further combinations of machines and humans, and perhaps also genetic tinkering. Maybe humans making such journeys will be like no humans who ever came before them.

The authors know that they are merely conducting "intellectual exercises designed to broaden one's thinking about the options involved." Humans won't be able to live on Earth forever; even if we were taking perfect care of our environment, we can't count on an eternal Sun. The authors admit, "It disappoints us to think that humanity might forever be confined to a single world," and are not attracted to the idea that we would simply send out robots to do our exploration for us. They quote a former NASA official: "We don't give ticker tape parades for robots." As much speculation as there is in the book, there is also a serious assessment for what is needed in the future. The prospects for human colonization within the solar system look small, even for the most likely of future homes, Mars. Assessing planets outside the solar system has just begun, and the authors see this as the top priority for space exploration. Other priorities include finding a more effective propulsion system, because our current rockets won't get humans, robots, or cyborgs very far very fast; reducing the cost of space travel; and civil partnerships with privately owned space industries. Even these priorities, which the authors view as realistic, some might see as mere science fiction. Only a few decades ago, however, travel to the Moon was mere science fiction. _Robots in Space_ is about a lot more than just robots, and although it is a sober and thoughtful examination of serious ideas, it is a mind-stretching trip.

This book has the feel of something that was dashed off in a few weeks to meet a publishing deadline. The photos poorly illustrate the text, and many of the photos are inexplicably re-used at multiple points in the book -- apparently just as 'filler'.

The text does cover some of the basic questions a robot builder might pose, but there certainly is not enough detail to enable someone to actually construct a sucessful combat robot.

There are many better books available on this subject. Search them out and add them to your library before you consider this purchase.

This book is a must read for those new to the sport and who are interested in R/C robot combat tournaments. It primarily focuses on the basics of robot construction, from locomotion to weapon systems to robot fighting styles. Basic robot physics, tactics and acquiring sponsorship are covered as well. It also presents the issues involved with putting on your own tournament. There are helpful tips from a large assortment of knowledgeable people including top builders, vendors, tournament organizers and more. If you are new to the sport, it is an indispensable source of helpful information. Many `newbie' mistakes can be avoided with the experience gained from the book. If you have already had lots of robot combat exposure you should recognize most of the material as fundamental, yet it can still be an interesting and informative read.

The easiest way to ignore those assumptions is turn to LMI-based H-infinity formulation. The full rank assumption can also be satisfied by purposely pulling out some signals from the augmentation plant...

From the book, it states that the assuption must satisfy which D21 and D12 must be full rank, that is D12 must have no more columns than rows D21 must have no more rows than columns however i cannot achieve it. Did Anyone know how to tackle it ? Can the assuption achieve by scaling matrices ,but how? Does anyone have any suggestionabout this ? After reading the book, I think I still not clear about the H infinity. Below is my knowledge about H infinity, can anyone mind to correct it if i m wrong ? The step for calculating the H infinity 1) define the state space form 2) form the packed-matrix notation 3) check the assuption (is the state space form we obtained satisfy it ?) 4) define a gamma value (positive scalar) 5) calculation the Riccat Equation 6) check the result of the Riccati equation satisfy the condition or not (X>0 , y>0 and spectral radius of (XY)On the other hand, if the state space form have been formulated, is there have any mehtod to testing the form is suitable for H infinity control or not? second, how to calculate the H infinity norm ,i.e. how to define Pzw, Pzu, Pyu, Pyw?

This short book presents an overview of mathematical results (i.e. proofs) concerning existence and uniqueness for linear state space methods of control theory. A good prerequisite would be that you already know either some functional analysis or some state space control theory, and you want to see how these two fields work together. The author covers topological, Banach, and Hilbert spaces and their applicability to optimal controllers via typical control theory cost functions. Some material on distributed systems is presented at the end. The few worked examples are trivial in nature compared to typical control theory books, but this is in keeping with the abstract mathematical nature of the book. Since this book is a 1980 edition, many addition interesting results are presumably known today (2008), but this book seems to be a good starting point. For a less proof oriented book, still done with somewhat of a mathematical bent and with many more examples, consider the masterpiece, Modern Control Theory, by Brogan. Happy controlling.

A very thin book that suffers from a nonuniform level of presentation.
Attempts to treat optimal control from a functional analytic viewpoint. You
have to basically know functional analysis very well as a prerequisite.
There is a nice editorialized bibliography in each chapter.

I studied a B.A.E.E. and did a subject on robotics. I didn't find this book very helpful.

About once a generation a book of stellar quality comes out on a subject. This is THE book if you're building robots, physics equipment anything. Bill tells you the nuts and bolts of things. Like no other book in the field. If you build gadgets or gismos you need this book.