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Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls, David Hu takes readers on an accessible, wondrous journey into the world of animal motion. From basement labs at MIT to the rain forests of Panama, Hu shows how animals have adapted and evolved to traverse their environments, taking advantage of physical laws with results that are startling and ingenious. In turn, the latest discoveries about animal mechanics are inspiring scientists to invent robots and devices that move with similar elegance and efficiency. Hu follows scientists as they investigate a multitude of animal movements, from the undulations of sandfish and the way that dogs shake off water in fractions of a second to the seemingly crash-resistant characteristics of insect flight. Not limiting his exploration to individual organisms, Hu describes the ways animals enact swarm intelligence, such as when army ants cooperate and link their bodies to create bridges that span ravines. He also looks at what scientists learn from nature's unexpected feats-such as snakes that fly, mosquitoes that survive rainstorms, and dead fish that swim upstream. As researchers better understand such issues as energy, flexibility, and water repellency in animal movement, they are applying this knowledge to the development of cutting-edge technology.Integrating biology, engineering, physics, and robotics, How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls demystifies the remarkable mechanics behind animal locomotion.

Animal mechanics. --- Bionics. --- Robotics. --- Mécanique animale. --- Bionique. --- Robotique. --- Animal mechanics --- Robots --- Robotics --- Design and construction --- Robots - Design and construction --- Mécanique animale.

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For readers of Robot Building for Beginner (Apress, 2002 and 2009), welcome to the next level. Intermediate Robot Building, Second Edition offers you the kind of real-world knowledge that only renowned author David Cook can offer. In this book, you’ll learn the value of a robot heartbeat and the purpose of the wavy lines in photocells. You’ll find out what electronic part you should sand. You’ll discover how a well-placed switch can help a robot avoid obstacles better than a pair of feelers. And you’ll avoid mistakes that can cause a capacitor to explode. Want a robot that can explore rooms, follow lines, or battle opponents in mini-sumo? This book presents step-by-step instructions and circuit and part descriptions so that you can build the robot featured in the book or apply the modules to your own robot designs. Finally, you’ll find the complete schematics for Roundabout, a room explorer that requires no programming and uses only off-the-shelf electronics. With Roundabout, you’ll use many of the same techniques used by professional robotics engineers, and you’ll experience many of the same challenges and joys they feel when a robot “comes to life.”.

Robotics -- Amateurs' manuals. --- Robotics. --- Robots -- Design and construction -- Amateurs' manuals. --- Robots -- Design and construction. --- Robotics --- Robots --- Engineering & Applied Sciences --- Mechanical Engineering --- Computer Science --- Mechanical Engineering - General --- Design and construction --- Information Technology --- Computer Science (Hardware & Networks) --- Automata --- Automatons --- Computer science. --- Computer Science. --- Computer Science, general. --- Manipulators (Mechanism) --- Mecha (Vehicles) --- Automation --- Machine theory --- Computer input-output equipment. --- Computer hardware. --- Hardware and Maker. --- Computer Hardware. --- Computer hardware --- Computer I/O equipment --- Computers --- Electronic analog computers --- Electronic digital computers --- Hardware, Computer --- I/O equipment (Computers) --- Input equipment (Computers) --- Input-output equipment (Computers) --- Output equipment (Computers) --- Computer systems --- Input-output equipment

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Acknowledgements xi Part I: Fundamentals Getting Started 3 Chapter 1: Chapter 2: The RCX 17 Chapter 3: Introduction to NQC 33 Construction 57 Chapter 4: Part II: Robots 81 83 Chapter 5: Tankbot Chapter 6: Bumpbot 97 Chapter 7: Bugbot 109 131 Chapter 8: Linebot Chapter 9: Dumpbot 149 Scanbot 165 Chapter 10: Chapter 11: Tribot 191 201 Chapter 12: Onebot Steerbot 209 Chapter 13: 233 Chapter 14: Diffbot Chapter 15: Brick Sorter 245 257 Chapter 16: Vending Machine Chapter 17: Communication 279 Chapter 18: Using the Datalog 297 317 Chapter 19: Roboarm Afterword 353 Appendixes 355 MINDSTORMS Sets Appendix A: Supplementary Parts 361 Appendix B: Programming Tools 365 Appendix C: NQC Quick Reference 369 Appendix 0: Online Resources 377 Appendix E: 379 Index vII he MINDSTORMS Robotics Invention System from LEGO is a new kind of T toy. True to its heritage, it contains a generous assortment of LEGO pieces that snap, slide, and click into place with amazing simplicity. Nearly all of the pieces can interlock with one another, sometimes in rather unusual ways. What sets MINDSTORMS apart, however, is LEGO's Programmable Brick, called the RCX. Sensors and motors can be attached to the RCX (again with LEGO's hallmark simplicity), and suddenly the RCX brings a LEGO model to life. It not only moves, but also senses and responds to its environment. Robotics itself is nothing new. Industrial robots have been in use for years and are constantly getting more sophisticated.

Robotics --- LEGO toys --- Robots --- Popular works --- Programming --- Design and construction --- LEGO (jouets) --- Programmation --- Computer programming. --- Special purpose computers. --- Programming Techniques. --- Special Purpose and Application-Based Systems. --- Special purpose computers --- Computers --- Electronic computer programming --- Electronic data processing --- Electronic digital computers --- Programming (Electronic computers) --- Coding theory --- Robotics - Popular works --- Robots - Programming --- Robots - Design and construction

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Winning Design! LEGO Mindstorms NXT Design Patterns for Fun and Competition is about design that works. It’s about building with LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT for fun, for education, but especially for competition. Author James Trobaugh is an experienced coach and leader in the FIRST LEGO League. In this book, he shares his hard-won knowledge about design principles and techniques that contribute to success in robotics competitions. Winning Design! unlocks the secrets of reliable design using LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT. You’ll learn proven design patterns that you can employ for common tasks such as turning, pushing, and pulling. You’ll reduce and compensate for variation in performance from battery charge levels and motor calibration differences. You’ll produce designs that won’t frustrate you by not working, but that will delight you with their reliable performance in the heat of competition. Good design is about more than just the hardware. Software counts for a lot, and Winning Design! has you covered. You’ll find chapters on program design and organization with tips on effective coding and documentation practices. You’ll learn about master programs and the needed flexibility they provide. There’s even a section on presenting your robot and software designs to the judges. Winning Design! is the book you need if your involved in competitions such as FIRST LEGO League events. Whether coach, parent, or student, you’ll find much in this book to make your design and competition experience fun and memorable, and educational. Please note: the print version of this title is black & white; the eBook is full color.

LEGO toys. --- Robots -- Computer software. --- Robots -- Design and construction -- Popular works. --- Robots -- Design and construction. --- Robots -- Programming -- Popular works. --- LEGO Mindstorms toys --- Robots --- Computer Science --- Mechanical Engineering - General --- Engineering & Applied Sciences --- Mechanical Engineering --- Design and construction --- Programming --- Information Technology --- Computer Science (Hardware & Networks) --- Automata --- Automatons --- Computer science. --- Computer programming. --- Computer Science. --- Computer Science, general. --- Programming Techniques. --- Computers --- Electronic computer programming --- Electronic data processing --- Electronic digital computers --- Programming (Electronic computers) --- Coding theory --- Informatics --- Science --- Toys --- Manipulators (Mechanism) --- Robotics --- Mecha (Vehicles) --- Computer input-output equipment. --- Hardware and Maker. --- Computing Milieux. --- Computer hardware --- Computer I/O equipment --- Electronic analog computers --- Hardware, Computer --- I/O equipment (Computers) --- Input equipment (Computers) --- Input-output equipment (Computers) --- Output equipment (Computers) --- Computer systems --- Input-output equipment --- Computers. --- Automatic computers --- Automatic data processors --- Computing machines (Computers) --- Electronic brains --- Electronic calculating-machines --- Electronic computers --- Cybernetics --- Machine theory --- Calculators --- Cyberspace

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From Bricks to Brains introduces embodied cognitive science, and illustrates its foundational ideas through the construction and observation of LEGO Mindstorms robots.Discussing the characteristics that distinguish embodied cognitive science from classical cognitive science, From Bricks to Brains places a renewed emphasis on sensing and acting, the importance of embodiment, the exploration of distributed notions of control, and the development of theories by synthesizing simple systems and exploring their behaviour. Numerous examples are used to illustrate a key theme: the importance of an age

Artificial intelligence. --- Cognitive science. --- LEGO toys. --- Robots -- Design and construction. --- Robots -- Dynamics. --- Robots -- Programming. --- Robots --- Cognitive science --- Artificial intelligence --- LEGO toys --- Mechanical Engineering - General --- Mechanical Engineering --- Engineering & Applied Sciences --- Programming --- Dynamics --- Design and construction --- Programming. --- Dynamics. --- Design and construction. --- AI (Artificial intelligence) --- Artificial thinking --- Electronic brains --- Intellectronics --- Intelligence, Artificial --- Intelligent machines --- Machine intelligence --- Thinking, Artificial --- Automata --- Automatons --- Robot programming --- Toys --- Bionics --- Digital computer simulation --- Electronic data processing --- Logic machines --- Machine theory --- Self-organizing systems --- Simulation methods --- Fifth generation computers --- Neural computers --- Manipulators (Mechanism) --- Robotics --- Mecha (Vehicles) --- Science --- Philosophy of mind --- Computer programming --- science --- behaviour --- brain