1 What is a robot
This chapter covers
- What robots are made of
- Why robots have so much potential
- The hardware and software components used by the robots
In recent years, the field of robotics has grown tremendously with robots for consumer usage to ones with industrial applications becoming more and more widespread. The hardware and software behind these robots have also become more and more accessible, making it an exciting time to learn about robotics. This book leverages the power of the Python programming language to bring a wide variety of robotics projects to life using software and hardware that embraces the open-source philosophy. By the end of the book, you will have learned how to build 9 different projects relating to robotics.
1.1 Why robots are amazing
Computers have changed the lives of every human on this planet in ways that could not have been imagined by their creators decades ago. Robot technology gives those computers the arms and wheels to move around and achieve even more things beyond our imagination. In many ways, robots are the future. This book allows you to build these robots from the ground up and see them come to life in the real world. The code you write will make your computer drive around and knock things over of your choosing. The following figure provides a visual illustration of the different ways we can leverage the power of robots.
Figure 1.1 Power of Robots: Robots leverage different hardware to move and see the world around them
