Robots: From Everyday to Out of This World

Just a few short years ago many people thought that robots were a bit far fetched and R2-D2 and his pal C-3PO were only fantasy bots to be found in movies. If you've ever been lucky enough to see the Country Bear Jamboree in the Magic Kingdom, you've seen an animatronic character. If you've seen an iRobot Roomba magically vacuuming a room, you've seen a robot in action. In the 1400s Leonardo da Vinci drew up plans for a "robot-knight" that could be "run by pulleys, wooden disks and gears." At that time his peers must have thought he was crazy, but when we look at present day robotics we can only imagine what the future will bring. In this AMAZING book we get a look at all kinds of robots. We learn about the basic components a robot is made up of, how they are powered, how they gather information and how they move. You will meet working robots, Mini-Andros the bomb-defusing hazbot, MAKRO the sewer system worker, robot heroes who worked at the World Trade Center (VGTV, Microtrac and iRobot Packbot), the da Vinci Surgical System, TUG the "robotic courier used in hospitals," Noelle, the "pregnant robot" who helps medical students learn to deliver babies, ROPOS the undersea robot who works on scientific expeditions, space `bots, Robonaut the robot-astronaut, the Canadarm and many, many more bots! This is a book that any bot lover will grab for, read and browse for hours. The text is very clear and exciting to read and the stunning scientific photographs (drawn from professional and scientific organizations) and informative sidebars bring this book together superbly. The range of robots is amazing and the reader can look at anything from toy robots to those that help people expand the quality of their lives to those that advance scientific research. In the back of the book is a glossary and an excellent index. Do you know what a nanobot is? If not, you might just want to read this book!