Hi Clayton, You're really asking a tough question and one that I think only you can answer. I can give some more detail on the projects contained in the book and where it fits in to help you make your decision. The book is #3 in a series ("Robot DNA" - the second one will be available in a month's time and it deals with Robot drivetrains, the first which will probably available in the new year will focus on robot structures) and it focuses primarily on sensors and output devices used in a robot. I also discuss a number of different strategies for the "high level" (what I call "biologic") code. There are two designs for very basic robot platforms that you can use to test out the interfaces cheaply and quickly. One uses a pair of DC motors while the other uses a pair of modified R/C Servos. The example robot platforms integrate: - LED status outputs - IR or "whisker" object detection - Light level sensors - TV IR Remote Control receivers - Motor Drivers (Servo and H-Bridge DC Motor Control) and has code suitable for adding: - Sound sensors - Multi-segment LEDs - LCDs to the robot. If you are an absolute beginner to electronics or programming, it would definitely not be appropriate for you. The book uses the PIC16F627 and uses software written in the HT-Soft "PICC Lite" compiler. If you have a basic electronic introduction and some familiarity with programming (ideally in "C"), you should not have any trouble with the concepts presented in the book. There is no assembler in the book - the code was written to be as portable as possible to other controllers. The book is probably not a bad introduction to the PICmicro MCU as many of the sensors and output devices are what beginners want to work with. Where somebody new to microcontrollers may have problems is that all the interfaces are written with an eye toward putting several together in the same robot system. The various interfaces are designed to execute/be sequenced using a single, 1kHz TMR0 interrupt - This is *definitely* overkill for somebody that just wants to watch an LED flash as their first project. Does this help answer your question? Personally, I'm very excited about the book because I think it goes beyond the typical introduction in robot books as to what a controller is and how it is programmed (ie flash an LED or just move it forward about the room). I really tried to stress the importance that the controller must be part of the entire robot design effort and how to design different software and hardware interfaces so they do not interact negatively and can be changed easily as the design of the robot changes. myke ----- Original Message ----- From: "Clayton Mellina" To: Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 9:58 PM Subject: Re: [PIC]: New Releases: El Cheapo, BASIC87x and "Programming Robot Controllers" > Your new book sounds great! I wish to use assembly so my question is: Is > there enough circuits and robotic theory in the book to justify buying it? > Do you explain how the code works so I can apply the ideas to assembly? > Thanks and good luck. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: pic microcontroller discussion list > [mailto:PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU]On Behalf Of myke predko > Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 9:57 PM > To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU > Subject: [PIC]: New Releases: El Cheapo, BASIC87x and "Programming Robot > Controllers" > > > Hi Folks, > > I just wanted to let everyone know about some updates to my current > projects: > > 1. I just put up a new version of the El Cheapo Windows interface software > (0.84). This version corrects a problem that a number of people discovered > this week when they tried to load the El Cheapo Windows interface software > on disk drives over than "C". > > My next task for this is to add a configuration fuse display/update > function. > > > 2. I've gotten a number of questions from people using the BASIC87x if > there is anyway in which they can run it at any other speed than 4 MHz with > a 1200 bps serial interface. Version 0.85, which I've just put up on my > site has two defines, "CLOCKSPEED" and "DATARATE" which can be changed to > specify the operating speed of the PICmicro MCU as well as the serial > interface. The conditional code supporting these defines correctly load > SPBRG and TXSTA for the data rate as well as the configuration fuses. > > Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Next on the agenda is to work > with the user interface and make sure it is 100% (I suspect there are a few > problem areas). > > > 3. My latest book, "Programming Robot Controllers" is available. In this > book, I show how mobile robot controllers are implemented with sensors. The > examples in the book use the PIC16F627 and PICC Lite. > > > I've provided links to these items on my web page: > > http://www.myke.com > > myke > > -- > http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! > email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics > (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics > > > > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics