Learning Robotics with ROBOTIS PLAY Systems

This book is for you if you are a young robotics enthusiast interested in robotics programming and design with the ROBOTIS PLAY700 kit, or if you are an adult investigating the possible use of the PLAY700 kit to help children learn about robotics programming and design. The reader is introduced to fundamental concepts in several areas: mechanical design concepts, computer programming, robot control, inter-device communications and multimedia programming for richer story telling.

This book consists of 5 chapters:

• Chapter 1 presents foundational concepts regarding the system design approach used by ROBOTIS in creating its educational kits and the Sense-Think-Act paradigm used in developing the contents of this book.
• Chapter 2 describes the hardware characteristics of the PLAY700 kit and how to use the ROBOTIS MANAGER software tool using a "Basic Bot" design.
• Chapter 3 is a substantial chapter (70 pages) providing a gradual but in-depth tutorial about applications of the R+TASK and R+m.PLAY700 software tools using two robot designs - "Spinning Top" and "Car Bot". Topics included autonomous-behavior and remote-control algorithms, communication and multimedia programming techniques. PC and Mobile uses of the TASK tool will be shown.
• Chapter 4 is also another substantial chapter (38 pages) mirroring the instructional approach and topics developed in Chapter 3 but now using the R+SCRATCH/SCRATCH 2 tool chain and its event programming features.
• Chapter 5 presents selected mechanical design concepts such as gear functionality and 4-bar linkages which are inherent in the mechanical components provided in the PLAY700 kit. The author's goal is to help students understand the mechanical design concepts represented in the original example robots, and be creative in their own robot designs by showcasing simple but effective robot design extensions.

This book also provides appropriate source codes and tutorial videos to illustrate the presented concepts, along with review questions to help students master learned materials.

I am an engineer by training (B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, M.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and Ph. D. in Agricultural Engineering). I have retired from 31 years of teaching and research at the University of Georgia (College of Engineering) in Educational Robotics, Multi-Spectral Imaging Applications for Plant Health Monitoring and Horticultural Products Quality Characterization, and also in the area of Agricultural Systems Modeling and Simulation.