Robot Experiments

Science-fair competitors who aspire to amaze will pore over this title. After an introduction that includes a safety warning, the book builds from a history of robots to assembling your own machine. The detailed chapters in between describe “What’s Inside a Robot?” “Control Servos with a Microcontroller,” and how to make your robot make sounds. The section on project execution includes information on using LEDs and touch sensors. Throughout, large circuit diagrams and sections of computer code are provided where necessary. Components are described as well as shown in accompanying photographs, and an appendix lists online sources for materials. The frequent “Ideas for a Science Fair Project” sidebars can be refreshingly challenging; they suggest, for example, posing some problems for your creation (“what geometry of a maze is difficult for a robot to exit?”). A tinkerer’s delight.