Robot Building for Beginners book by David Cook Robot Building for Beginners

A beginner's book on how to build a robot, from the author of Robot Room. Contains tricks, tips, and advice on getting started creating your own robots from scratch. SECOND EDITION!

Intermediate Robot Building book by David Cook Intermediate Robot Building

Learn how to make a robot power supply, compare motor driver circuits, create an infrared obstacle / wall / opponent sensor, play music, and much more. SECOND EDITION!


What's New?


H.A.N.D. thumbnail Have A Nice Day - Sumo Robot
Driven by eight wheels and two Maxon motors, this LEGO-bodied robot shoves off competitors using a powered drop-down spatula-style scoop. Despite multiple sensors, three motor drivers, status LEDs, and a pushbutton, the robot is controlled by a simple 16-pin microcontroller.
Hard2C thumbnail Hard2C Mini Sumo Robot
A mini sumo robot that is compact and painted black to avoid detection. It uses Sharp distance sensors, a 1 mm scoop, and floods opponents with red and infrared light. Learn about the flaws that prevent it from winning most sumo matches.
Chicago thumbnail Chicago Solar-Powered Line-Following Robot
This robot combines two circuits from other robots to charge/discharge 2 farads of capacitance into a pair of miniature motors controlled by a low-voltage comparator. Four photosensors track the line, which can be either dark or light based on a switch setting.
Carefree thumbnail Carefree Robot
A room-exploring robot with a variety of sensors (whiskers, snap-action switches, shadow detectors). It has an unusual serial motor driver and a special image etched into the motherboard PCB.
Multimeter measuring resistance in ohm mode How to Measure Low Resistances
Occasionally you'll run across electronics such as relays, cables, igniters, switches, or current-sense resistors that have resistances less than one ohm. Few multimeters accurately measure less than 1 Ω, but most have a millivolt mode that can be combined with a 5 V source, a fixed resistor, and some simple math to determine milliohm resistances.
Parachute and rocket nose cone sticking out of a tree branch How to Get a Model Rocket Out of a Tree
Oh no! A rocket has gotten stuck in a tree branch approximately 36 feet off the ground. How can it be rescued? With bamboo poles? A novelty party balloon with fishing line? Or a coat hanger hook with a boring conventional ladder? Find out!
Walled-in playing field for a robot contest Building a Robot Contest Arena
Constructing a playing field for robots is much harder than it seems. Here are some tips for cutting wood boards, machining retention lips for scoring areas, chiseling notches, connecting wall together, and filling gaps.
Toggle switch with safety cover Fighter Pilot Safety-Cover Toggle Switch
See how an illuminated toggle switch works by breaking one open and putting it back together. Most of these are automotive switches, which need 12 V. The circuit schematics on the second page of the article show you how to shift voltage levels from 12 V to 5 V, and 5 V to 12 V. A microcontroller can read the switch state and blink the LED.
PCB layout thumbnail PCB Layout Tricks and Tips
A few extra holes, wider pads, and copper fills can greatly increase the versatility, solderability, and ease of testing of the printed circuit boards you design.
Miniature solar panel recharges batteries in a solar-powered project Solar Recharging
A small solar panel or series of solar cells can power an electronic device during the day, as well as recharge NiMH batteries to power the device at night. This simple recharger uses diodes for reverse-power protection and so that the project can measure the power source voltages. Includes schematics and graphs.
Pile of multimeters Multimeter Reviews
A digital meter is an essential tool for all robot builders and electronic hobbyists. If you're just starting out, can you buy the least expensive model and still get accurate results? How much do you need to spend to get a decent mid-range model? A dozen multimeters are tested and compared.

See Additional New Robot Articles...

Looking For Electronic Parts and Tools


Eye M ooking @ U Searching for Cool Stuff
Help David find components and tools for various projects. Currently searching for an oscilloscope, normally-closed and dual-action tactile buttons, and well as test lead hooks.

All Articles


 Robots
All robots
Line-Following Robots
Including maze solving
Mini-Sumo Robots
Plus ring making and rules
Solar Robots
BEAM and microcontroller
Motors
Mounts, couplers, H-bridge, PWM
Machining
Milling, drilling, and lathe
PCBs and Breadboards
Solderless and printed circuits
Tachometers
Also counters and encoders
Electronic Projects
And various electronic parts
Sensors
Infrared, photo, and distance
Inside Toys
Reverse-engineering
Calculators
Ohm's law and resistor bands
Miscellaneous
Multimeters and more
Obsolete
Scrapyard of old articles