Intermediate Robot Building

David Cook is an engineering manager at Motorola. He has 20 years of experience as a software developer, creating everything from award-winning computer games to mobile background-check applications for police. Self-taught in electronics and basic mechanics, David explains his years of robot experiences to the average backyard scientist in a comfortable and helpful manner, without scholarly intimidation. David hosts the popular robot site RobotRoom.com.

• Assembling a Modular Robot.- Comparing Two Types of Homemade Motor Couplers and Common Errors to Avoid.- Making a Fixture and Drilling Solid Rods for a Coupler.- Finishing the Solid-Rod Motor Coupler.- Building a Motor Inside a Wheel.- Understanding the Standards and Setup for Electronic Experiments.- Creating a Linear Voltage-Regulated Power Supply.- Making Robot Power Supply Improvements.- Driving Miss Motor.- Driving Mister Motor.- Creating an Infrared Modulated Obstacle, Opponent, and Wall Detector.- Fine-Tuning the Reflector Detector.- Roundabout Robot!.- Test Driving Roundabout.- If I Only Had a Brain.- Building Roundabout’s Daughterboard.- Adding the Floor Sensor Module.- Cooking Up Some Robot Stew.