“What are the best books aboutRobotics?” We looked at 141 different books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 12 Robotics books, all appearing on 2 or more lists, are listed below with images, summaries, and links. The remaining 129 best Robotics books, as well as the lists we used to aggregate, can be found at the bottom of the page.

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Top 12 Robotics Books

12 .) Computational Principles of Mobile Robotics by Gregory Dudek and Michael Jenkin

Lists It Appears On:

• Mobotica
• Robot Books

Mobile robotics is a multidisciplinary field involving both computer science and engineering. Addressing the design of automated systems, it lies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computational vision, and robotics. This textbook for advanced undergraduates and graduate students emphasizes algorithms for a range of strategies for locomotion, sensing, and reasoning. It concentrates on wheeled and legged mobile robots but discusses a variety of other propulsion systems. The new edition includes advances in robotics and intelligent machines over the last ten years, including significant coverage of SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) and multi-robot systems. It includes additional mathematical background and an extensive list of sample problems. Various mathematical techniques that were assumed in the first edition are now briefly introduced in appendices at the end of the text to make the book more self-contained. Researchers as well as students in the field of mobile robotics will appreciate this comprehensive treatment of state-of-the-art methods and key technologies.

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11 .) Embedded Robotics : Mobile Robot Design and Applications with Embedded Systems by Thomas Bräunl

Lists It Appears On:

• Roboterra
• Robot Books

This book presents a unique examination of mobile robots and embedded systems, from introductory to intermediate level. It is structured in three parts, dealing with Embedded Systems (hardware and software design, actuators, sensors, PID control, multitasking), Mobile Robot Design (driving, balancing, walking, and flying robots), and Mobile Robot Applications (mapping, robot soccer, genetic algorithms, neural networks, behavior-based systems, and simulation). The book is written as a text for courses in computer science, computer engineering, IT, electronic engineering, and mechatronics, as well as a guide for robot hobbyists and researchers.

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10 .) Introduction to Robotics by J.J. Craig

Lists It Appears On:

• Sanfoundry 2
• Mobotica

Now in its third edition, Introduction to Robotics by John J. Craig provides readers with real-world practicality with underlying theory presented. With one half of the material from traditional mechanical engineering material, one fourth control theoretical material, and one fourth computer science, the book covers rigid-body transformations, forward and inverse positional kinematics, velocities and Jacobians of linkages, dynamics, linear control, non-linear control, force control methodologies, mechanical design aspects and programming of robots. For engineers.

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9 .) JunkBots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels: Building Simple Robots With BEAM Technology by David Hrynkiw and Mark Tilden

Lists It Appears On:

• Society of Robots
• Razor Robotics

From the publishers of BattleBots: The Official Guide comes this do-it-yourself guide to BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, Mechanics) robots. They’re cheap, simple, and can be built by beginners in just a few hours, with help from this expert guide complete with full-color photos. Get ready for some dumpster-diving!

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8 .) Machine Learning, Neural and Statistical Classification by Donald Michie and David Spiegelhalter

Lists It Appears On:

• Big Data Made Simple
• Dev Zum

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7 .) Mobile Robotics: A Practical Introduction by Ulrich Nehmzow

Lists It Appears On:

• Mobotica
• Robot Books

“A fascinating, cutting-edge, research topic, autonomous mobile robotics is now taught in more and more universities. In this book you are introduced to the fundamental concepts of this complex field via twelve detailed case studies that show how to build and program real working robots. Topics covered in clued learning, autonomous navigation in unmodified, noisy and unpredictable environments, and high fidelity robot simulation.
This new edition has been updated to include a new chapter on novelty detection, and provides a very practical introduction to mobile robotics for a general scientific audience. It is essential reading for 2nd and 3rd year undergraduate students and postgraduate students studying robotics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science and robot engineering. The update and overview of core concepts in mobile robotics will assist and encourage practitioners of the field and set challenges to explore new avenues of research in this exiting field. “

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6 .) Robotics Demystified by Edwin Wise

Lists It Appears On:

• Robot Books 2
• Roboterra

“McGraw-Hill’s Demystified titles are the most efficient, interestingly written, brush-ups you can find. Organized as self-teaching guides, they come complete with key points, background information, questions at the end of each chapter, and even final exams. You’ll be able to learn more in less time, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and reinforce your knowledge and confidence.

This complete self-teaching guide takes an introductory approach to robotics, guiding readers through the essential electronics, mechanics, and programming skills necessary to build their own robot.”

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5 .) Fundamentals of Robotics by Robert J. Schiling

Lists It Appears On:

• Robot Books
• Roboterra
• Sanfoundry

A complete overview of the fundamentals of robotics. Case study examples of educational, industrial and generic robots are discussed. Class demonstration software is provided with the laboratory manual.

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4 .) Planning Algorithms by Steven M. LaValle

Lists It Appears On:

• Dev Zum
• Big Data Made Simple
• Mobotica

Planning algorithms are impacting technical disciplines and industries around the world, including robotics, computer-aided design, manufacturing, computer graphics, aerospace applications, drug design, and protein folding. Written for computer scientists and engineers with interests in artificial intelligence, robotics, or control theory, this is the only book on this topic that tightly integrates a vast body of literature from several fields into a coherent source for teaching and reference in a wide variety of applications. Difficult mathematical material is explained through hundreds of examples and illustrations.

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3 .) Robot Building for Beginners by David Cook

Lists It Appears On:

• Robot Books 2
• Robot Shop
• Society of Robots

“The robot described and built in this book is battery powered and about the size of a lunch box. It is autonomous; that is, it isn’t remote controlled.

The book is broken up into small chapters, suitable for bedtime (or bathroom) reading.

The characteristics and purposes of each major component (resistor, transistor, wire, and motor) are described, followed by a hands-on experiment to demonstrate. Not only does this help the reader to understand a particular piece, but it also prepares them with processes to learn new parts on their own. An appendix offers an introduction to 3D printing and parts of the robot can, as an alternative, be “”printed”” using a 3D printer.

The master project of the book is a simple, entertaining, line-following robot.”

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2 .) Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robot by Roland Siegwart

Lists It Appears On:

• Robot Books
• Mobotica
• Roboterra
• Society of Robots

Mobile robots range from the Mars Pathfinder mission’s teleoperated Sojourner to the cleaning robots in the Paris Metro. This text offers students and other interested readers an introduction to the fundamentals of mobile robotics, spanning the mechanical, motor, sensory, perceptual, and cognitive layers the field comprises. The text focuses on mobility itself, offering an overview of the mechanisms that allow a mobile robot to move through a real world environment to perform its tasks, including locomotion, sensing, localization, and motion planning. It synthesizes material from such fields as kinematics, control theory, signal analysis, computer vision, information theory, artificial intelligence, and probability theory. The book presents the techniques and technology that enable mobility in a series of interacting modules. Each chapter treats a different aspect of mobility, as the book moves from low-level to high-level details. It covers all aspects of mobile robotics, including software and hardware design considerations, related technologies, and algorithmic techniques.

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1 .) Robot Builder’s Bonanza by Gordon McComb

Lists It Appears On:

• Robot Books 2
• Society of Robots
• Robohub
• Robot Shop

“Have fun while learning how to design, construct, and use small robots! This richly illustrated guide offers everything you need to know to construct sophisticated, fully autonomous robots that can be programmed from your computer. Fully updated with the latest technologies and techniques, Robot Builder’s Bonanza, Fourth Edition includes step-by-step plans that take you from building basic motorized platforms to giving the machine a brain–and teaching it to walk, talk, and obey commands.

This robot builder’s paradise is packed with more than 100 affordable projects, including 10 completely new robot designs. The projects are modular and can be combined to create a variety of highly intelligent and workable robots of all shapes and sizes. Mix and match the projects to develop your own unique creations. The only limit is your imagination!”

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The #13-141 Additional Top Robotics Books

15 Best Robotics Book Sources/Lists