Advanced Control Robotics

When it comes to robotics, the future is now. With the ever-increasing demand for robotics applications-from home control systems to animatronic toys to unmanned planet rovers-it's an exciting time to be a roboticist, whether you're a weekend DIYer, a computer science student, or a professional engineer.

It doesn't matter if you're building a line-following robot toy or tasked with designing a mobile system for an extraterrestrial exploratory mission: the more you know about advanced robotics technologies, the better you'll fare at your workbench. Hanno Sander's Advanced Control Robotics is intended to help roboticists of various skill levels take their designs to the next level with microcontrollers and the know-how to implement them effectively.

Advanced Control Robotics simplifies the theory and best practices of advanced robot technologies. You're taught basic embedded design theory and presented handy code samples, essential schematics, and valuable design tips (from construction to debugging).

You will learn about:

- Control Robotics: robot actions, servos, and stepper motors
- Embedded Technology: microcontrollers and peripherals
- Programming Languages: machine level (Assembly), low level (C/BASIC/Spin), and human (12Blocks)
- Control Structures: functions, state machines, multiprocessors, and events
- Visual Debugging: LED/speaker/gauges, PC-based development environments, and test instruments
- Output: sounds and synthesized speech
- Sensors: compass, encoder, tilt, proximity, artificial markers, and audio
- Control Loop Algorithms: digital control, PID, and fuzzy logic
- Communication Technologies: infrared, sound, and XML-RPC over HTTP
- Projects: line following with vision and pattern tracking