Build Your Own Humanoid Robots

"GREAT 'DROIDS, INDEED!
This unique guide to sophisticated robotics projects brings humanoid robot construction home to the hobbyist. Written by a well-known figure in the robotics community, Build Your Own Humanoid Robots provides step-by-step directions for 6 exciting projects, each costing less than $300. Together, they form the essential ingredients for making your own humanoid robot.

Build Your Own Humanoid Robots & Amazing and Affordable Projects
Serious enough to interest robot professionals, the plans inside offer serious fun to hobbyists. They give you the power to breathe life into a mechanical being with amazingly human qualities, and feature all the instructions you need for programming the inexpensive chips that give your humanoid brains and sensitivity.

6 Astounding Projects:
* Robotic Arm, Wrist, and Hand. Build a versatile robotic arm system to give your humanoid the ability to manipulate objects/ A PIC microcontroller provides motor control and feedback.

* Personal Computer Interface. Learn how to interface the robot arm or any other robotics project to a personal computer for complete control and feedback.

* Visual Basic Control Software. Develop flexible bidirectional communications software to control the robot arm or other projects from your personal computer.

* Voice Recognition Control. Make your robotic arm and walking robot obey your spoken commands with this completely embedded control system that can also be used for many other applications.

* Expressive, Speaking Face. Enable your robot to show happiness, surprise, excitement, anger, and more, as it speaks any words you transmit electronically.

* Bipedal Walking Robot. It's your own amazing small scale, fully autonomous robot! Learn about sensors, analog-to-digital converters, DC motor control, microcontrollers, feedback, and control systems.

Also included is the background information regarding construction materials, test equipment, printed circuit board fabrication, microcontrollers, and programming and design considerations needed to create the humanoid robot projects."

Karl Williams is an independent robotics researcher, electronics guru, and software developer. He is the author of the popular robotics guide Insectronics: Build Your Own Six Legged Walking Robot and the follow-up Amphibionics: Build Your Own Biologically Inspired Robots, both from TAB/McGraw-Hill. A resident of Ontario, Canada, he has written for the magazines Nuts and Volts, SERVO, and Conformity. Winner of an IBM award for his design of a computer-controlled robotic arm, he hosts a robotics and electronics Website. He is with AGFA HealthCare Informatics, a leading medical imaging software company.