Presenting a unique opportunity to learn about the wonderful world of robotics and embedded systems, "Stiquito Controlled!: Making a Truly Autonomous Robot" (Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press; February 2005; $59.95; Paper; 0-471-48882-8; http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0471488828.html) provides easy-to-follow, detailed assembly steps for building the robot and all the parts needed to complete assembly. In addition to offering a kit that includes both a book instructing how to build Stiquito and the robot parts, this book also features a printed circuit board. This board, which attaches to the top of Stiquito, contains a microcontroller that drives the legs of the robot. Comprehensive lessons demonstrate how to make Stiquito walk using the microcontroller.
"Stiquito Controlled!" Covers Such Topics as:
- PCB layout and manufacturing
- Building Stiquito
- Stiquito programming using Texas instruments MSP430F1122
- A two-degree-of-freedom Stiquito robot
- Optimizing the Stiquito robot for speed
- Additional research areas
Engineering teachers and students, researchers, and science enthusiasts will find "Stiquito Controlled!: Making a Truly Autonomous Robot" a fascinating and fun hands-on project.
About the Author:
James M. Conrad, Ph.D., has more than 15 years experience in embedded systems development as a project and development manager. Currently a professor for the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of North Carolina State University, Dr. Conrad also worked with such companies as IBM, Ericsson, SONY Ericsson, and BPM Technologies. He is a Senior member of the IEEE; a member of the Project Management Institute and the IEEE Computer Society; and a board member of the Computer Society Press operating committee. In addition to authoring two books on autonomous robots, numerous journal articles, conference papers, and technical papers, Dr. Conrad was an IBM Resident Scholar and recipient of the 1998 and 1999 Outstanding Achievement Awards from Ericsson.
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