McComb - Arduino Robot Bonanza

ARDUINO ROBOT BONANZA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gordon McComb has written 65 books and thousands of magazine articlesover a million copies of his books are in print, in more than a dozen languages. For 13 years, Gordon wrote a weekly syndicated newspaper column on computers and high technology, which reached several million readers worldwide. Hes a regular contributor to SERVO Magazine and other publications, and maintains an active Web site dedicated to teaching the art of science of robot building. He is the author of the best-selling Robot Builders Bonanza, now in its fourth edition.

ARDUINO ROBOT BONANZA

GORDON McCOMB

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ISBN: 978-0-07-178278-4

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For my mother,
Edna Kathryn Lane Forbes
19202012

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Special thanks go to Ken Gracey, Matt Gilliland, Jim Carey, and my many friends at Parallax; to Jim Frye of Lynxmotion; to Nathan Seidle, Pete Dokter, and Robert Cowan of SparkFun; to Gerry Coe of Devantech; to Russell Cameron, Claudia, and the crew at DAGU; to Roger Stewart and the editors at McGraw-Hill Education; and to my agent Matt Wagner.

And as always, to my wife Jennifer.

INTRODUCTION

THIS IS YOUR ROBOT WITH AN ARDUINO BRAIN

When I first started building robots, the microprocessor had not yet been invented. Robot brains were limited to hand-wired boards filled with gompy resistors, super-expensive transistors, and maybe even a relay or two.

Today we have microcontrollers, wonderful micro-miniaturized wonders that combine a computer with the ability to directly connect to lights, alarms, motors, solenoids, sensors, and other physical things. In fact, this whole concept now goes by the catchphrase physical computing. I mention this because physical computing plays directly into building robots. Thats why microcontrollers like the Arduino are so important in robotics.

The Arduino, first designed to help student designers integrate electronics and mechanics into their work, is one of the most popular microcontrollers now available. Its meant as a tool for building projects that sense and control their nearby world.

The Arduino is like a brain in a jar by itself it lacks the ability to detect its environment or manipulate anything. Its up to you to hook up your choice of sensors, motors, and other control electronics, then program the Arduino to do your bidding. And heres where this book comes in: Arduino Robot Bonanza helps you build a half-dozen robots that use the Arduino as a central brain. It shows you how to wire things up, then write programs so your bot follows your commands.

The projects in Arduino Robot Bonanza are designed to be reproducible using ordinary shop tools and average construction skills. Theres no cutting heavy metal or welding, and each of the six robots is constructed using parts that are commonly available. None of the projects rely on hard-to-find or surplus components. While robot building can be an expensive endeavor, all plans in this book favor lower-cost parts, and encourage reuse.