Many books have been written on the topic of robot building, ranging from very basic to extremely complex, but I have seldom come across a book that gets the balance right. Robot Builder’s Bonanza by Gordon McComb hits the sweet spot.

The book provides a vast amount of detail on the electronics, mechanics and programming required to build a robot. Concepts like movement (for both wheeled and legged robots), sensors (to make your robot perceive its environment and conditions), the pros and cons of different Micro-controllers, as well as many other actuators (that allow the robot to change its environment in some way) are all covered. 

At the start of each section, a brief introduction to the field is given that includes explanations of key concepts (such as resistors and capacitors in the case of the electronics section) to the tools used (such as drills and screws in the case of the mechanical section). The book includes over 100 projects as examples to illustrate the concepts covered.

The book, in both print and content, is of very high quality. It is very clearly written and provides many diagrams, pictures and schematics, making it easy to understand even the more complex topics covered, for example robotic vision, robotic interpretation of sounds or the choice of which micro-controllers to use as your robots’ brain.

I would very highly recommend Robot Builder’s Bonanza to anyone interested in getting started in robot building or even someone who is currently building robots. It is not just a great book for learning the basics and getting started, but it is also a great reference guide to complex topics as well as a source of inspiration.

As far as Robotics books go this is one of the best, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy today.