An introduction for the amateur to the ideas and concepts of robotics. The first part explains how and why robots work and are controlled, while the second part shows you how to make a simple two-legged humanoid robot that can be programmed from a home computer to walk.

This exciting book introduces the amateur to the ideas and concepts, both theoretical and practical, of robotics - a discipline which is radically changing the way we work.

The book is divided into two sections:
1: How and why robots work and how they are controlled.
2: How to make a simple two-legged humanoid robot that can be programmed to walk.

There are no complicated formulae or equations to grapple with or complicated circuit diagrams to decipher, and you don't have to be either a machinist or a programmer - everything is presented in clear, concise, everyday English. The robot can be built quickly on a workbench, or even a kitchen table, with a minimum number of hand tools, and all the parts are easily available in the UK and the USA.

This is a fascinating and unique book which explains the basics of a model engineering subject, combining construction skills with computer programming. It teaches you to build and run a working robot which can be controlled from any personal computer.