Books : The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide

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by: Dave Prochnow

: The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide

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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.892
EAN: 9780071463096
ISBN: 0071463097
Label: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 225
Publication Date: August 17, 2005
Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics
Sales Rank: 473202
Studio: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics



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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
The Robosapien robot was one of the most popular hobbyist gifts of the 2004 holiday season, selling approximately 1.5 million units at major retail outlets. The brief manual accompanying the robot covered only basic movements and maneuvers -- the robot's real power and potential remain undiscovered by most owners -- until now! This is the official Robosapien guide -- endorsed by WowWee (the manufacturer) and Mark Tilden (the designer). This timely book covers all the possible design additions, programming possibilities, and "hacks" not found anyplace else.



Customer Reviews
Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - review
Very good. A must have if you have a Robosapien.

Came very well and carefully packaged.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars - Great as a companion to that other Robosapien book
This book was a delight to read. The author has an engaging style that leads you forward to further discovery. As others have noted, some of the detail is lacking. I don't know if that's necessarily a minus-- a circuit diagram alone leads to further research and discovery; providing a PCB layout and parts list would stymie further research. The projects are very ambitious and, though I might not use the components discussed in my Robosapien, I learned quite a bit about available, inexpensive technologies that I'll enjoy as an electronics enthusiast. I was a bit put off by the author's Mac evangelism, a religion that I respect but don't gravitate towards, but that's a minor quibble. Buy this from a third-party seller at remainder prices and it will be well worth your money. I bought a new copy that came in under a ten spot after shipping. I look forward to checking out some of the author's other books. The alternative Robosapien book makes a better all-in-one guide, but you can get both from third-party sellers for less than the cost of one from A.


Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - Decent book for the most part
On the positive side, Prochnow's candid writing style makes this book very entertaining to read. Most of the projects (but not all) are interesting too including replacing Robosapien's feet with a tank tread based traction system, turning him into an alarm clock or using him as a virtual wall for your roomba. Some seem silly and out-of-place however like the chapter on dressing up Robosapien in paper clothes. On the negative side, the author assumes the reader already possesses a basic working knowledge of electronics and schematic diagrams and as such completion steps for many projects are overly simplistic without the hand holding that most beginners would need.


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - Prefer "The Robosapien Companion: Tips, Tricks, and Hacks" over "The Official Robosapien Hacker's Guide"
The majority of "The Offical Robosapien Hacker's Guide" is the 11 chapters dedicated to 11 hacks. Some hacks require an additional investment of up to several hundred dollars, while other hacks require small circuits to be built. The author provides circuit diagrams WITHOUT explanations and details of the parts needed, but fails to provide any fundamental Electrical Engineering knowledge. EE 101 students will not have much trouble, but the typical person buying the Robosapien initially as a toy will. My two favorite parts of the book: 1) The $10 WowWee Rebate (expires 12/31/06) towards purchase of a WowWee robot. 2) The chapter dedicated to the disassembly of Robosapien where the author guides you on minimal disassembly for maximum internal exposure. While the author is highly knowledgable in electronics, he is vague and lacks the ability or patience to explain areas in details. The information and presentation of that information is no better than what I would expect to find on someones personal website who was sharing it for fun and not financial gain.


Rating: 2 out of 5 stars - I can't really rate this item...
Why? because I was expectin something else, but first of all, I didn't expect that you have to open/make a hole in your Robosapiens to modify it, so forget it! i will not damage my Robot.

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