The first hands-on programming guide for today's robot hobbyist

Get ready to reach into your programming toolbox and control a robot like never before Robot Programmer's Bonanza is the one-stop guide for everyone from robot novices to advanced hobbyists who are ready to go beyond just building robots and start programming them to perform useful tasks.

Using the versatile RobotBASIC programming language, you'll discover how to prototype your creative ideas using the integrated mobile robot simulator and then port your finished programs to nearly any...

Most introductory programming classes bore students with exercises that are dull and irrelevant. Even with proper examples, many programming languages add to the student's frustration because they require an understanding of object oriented principles and cryptic syntax before anything remotely interesting can be accomplished. RobotBASIC addresses both of these problems. It's easy-to-learn syntax rewards and motivates students by letting them see immediate results. An integrated robot simulator lets students develop logical thinking skills while solving stimulating problems without the costs...

If you want to learn how to program, this is the book for you. Most texts on programming offer dry, boring examples that are difficult to follow. In this book, a wide variety of interesting and relevant subjects are explored using a problem-solving methodology that develops logical thinking skills while making learning fun. RobotBASIC, a powerful, yet extremely easy-to-use, computer language available for any Windows-based PC, is used throughout the text. Download your FREE copy from www.RobotBASIC.com and begin your adventure today. Learning to program has never been so much fun. You will...

RobotBASIC has an integrated robot simulator with numerous sensors including bumpers, IR perimeter sensors, line sensors, a ranging sensor, a beacon detector, and an electronic compass. Our book, Robot Programmer's Bonanza, showed that these sensors can give a mobile robot amazing capabilities. RobotBASIC also has a proprietary protocol that allows it to control real robots with the very same programs developed with the simulator. This book gives a detail description of how to modify the 3Pi robot from Pololu so that it has all the sensors listed above and can be controlled over a Bluetooth...

This book concentrates on how RobotBASIC programs can interface with a wide variety of off-the-shelf hardware. Many options will be explored including both serial and parallel ports and how a separate microcontroller can be used to handle the low-level I/O operations. You will even see how vision, speech synthesis, voice recognition, and Internet communications can be used in your RobotBASIC programs. The main portion of the book uses straightforward, less intimidating examples to introduce the concepts without being overwhelming. A series of appendices provide additional details for more...

The PC used to allow control of electronic hardware by interfacing through its I/O ports and operating system that allowed deterministic real-time control. The PC grew progressively more complex and powerful at doing GUI, multitasking, 3D graphics, virtual memory management, and much more. But it also became extremely convoluted to program while also prohibiting any access to low-level I/O systems. In the meantime, microcontrollers were becoming more powerful, easier to program and cheaper. Naturally, engineers and hobbyists are opting to use them for their projects instead of the PC....

Lego's NXT system allows you to snap together a robot base complete with a variety of self-contained, modular sensors and motors. The problem with the NXT Robot though is software. While the visual programming language that ships with the system is supposed to be easy-to-use for beginners, many find it far from intuitive. Unless the tasks you are attempting are rudimentary and uncomplicated you may find the NXT's programming procedures difficult to comprehend. Even many of the after-market languages available for the NXT have cryptic syntax that can frustrate a new user. One solution to these...

The information in this book can be accessed from the RobotBASIC HELP Menu when you download your free copy of the language from www.RobotBASIC.org. At the request of our users, this printed version is offered for those wanting a hard copy without having to buy a new ink cartridge for their printer.