Robotic Explorations: A Hands-on Introduction to Engineering

Written by one of the founders of the famous MIT "6270" Lego Robotic design Competition, Robotic Explorations: A Hands-On Introduction to Engineering engages students in hands-on robot building, emphasizing technological systems of all kinds--electrical, mechanical, and computational. A first text for students as well as reference for practitioners, the book provides all the practical information needed to create an introductory freshman-level laboratory class. This versatile and pioneering book sparks the imagination and leads the reader into many thought-provoking and challenging engineering situations. Robotic Explorations includes: *An introduction to the field of engineering design, accessible to students at multiple undergraduate levels, with concepts relevant to electrical, mechanical, and software systems. *Principles of mechanical design, illustrated using the catalog of parts available in the LEGO Technic(R) system. *Step-by-step instructions for building "My First Robot," a tutorial for beginning explorations of control. *Applications of various control strategies including traditional proportional/derivative feedback, behavioral robotics, and hierarchical control.*Designs and application ideas for robotic sensors. *Project guidelines for designing robot contests to facilitate students' learning of particular engineering concepts. *Documentation for using educational robotics technology developed at MIT--Handy Board control hardware and Interactive C software.