Build smart, AI-powered robots with Raspberry Pi and Python through hands-on projects, from rovers to intelligent autonomous systems
Free with your book: DRM-free PDF version + access to Packt's next-gen Reader*
Key Features
- Boost your Python skills with practical examples to program complex robot behaviors and functionalities
- Build a robotics learning and exploration platform
- Leverage AI neural network models for voice recognition and synthesis, and OpenCV for computer vision
Book Description
Learn Robotics Programming, Third Edition, addresses a common challenge for developers, hobbyists, and newcomers: turning robotics ideas into building and programming real, functional robots. While many resources focus either on theory or isolated components, it can be difficult to bring together hardware, software, and intelligent behavior into a working robotic system.
This book provides a structured, hands-on path to designing and building robots using Raspberry Pi and Python. You’ll start by assembling a mobile robot and setting up its core systems, then progressively add capabilities such as motor control, sensor integration, and remote operation through web interfaces. As you advance, you’ll implement vision and voice features using OpenCV and ML voice models and explore intelligent behaviors, including localisation and sensor fusion, to help your robot navigate and respond to its environment.
By the end of the book, you’ll have built a fully functional robot and developed the skills to design, program, and extend your own robotic systems. Whether you are getting started or already have programming experience, you’ll learn how to combine hardware and software into cohesive solutions and apply practical techniques for creating responsive, intelligent robots.
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What you will learn
- Manage your robots with control panels and view their state with interactive dashboards
- Integrate sensor systems for dynamic robot navigation and interaction
- Learn voice recognition with Piper and Vosk, and build computer vision with OpenCV
- Explore encoder-based localisation with the BNO055 module to enhance your robot's movement accuracy
- Automate installation and updates with scripts to keep your robot up to date effortlessly
- Use practical algorithms to process sensor data to guide robot behavior
Who this book is for
This robotics book is ideal for programmers, developers, and robotics enthusiasts with at least beginner coding skills who are eager to design, build, and program cutting-edge robots using autonomous robot algorithms along with AI models. Basic knowledge of the Python programming language will help you understand the concepts covered in this robot programming book more effectively.
Table of Contents
- Introduction to Robotics
- Exploring Robot Building Blocks - Code and Electronics
- Preparing a Headless Raspberry Pi for a Robot
- Protecting Robot Code with Git
- Building Robot Basics - Wheels, Power, and Wiring
- Drive and Turn – Moving Motors with MQTT and Python
- Driving the Robot with a Phone and Python
- Programming Distance Sensors with Python
- Avoiding Obstacles with Distance Sensors
- Using Python to Control Servo Motors
- Programming Encoders with Python
- Encoder-Based Localisation with Python
- IMU-Based Robot Navigation with Python
- Robot Vision — Using a Pi Camera and OpenCV
- Line-Following with a Camera in Python
- Voice Control AI on a Robot with Python
- Robot Localisation and Sensor Fusion with Python
- Taking Your Robot Programming Skills Further
Danny Staple is a British robot builder and programmer. He has been a professional software engineer since 2000, using Python as part of DevOps and automation consultancy. Danny regularly contributes to open-source projects. Danny has been building robots at home since 2004 and has a workshop full of projects, including robots with wheels, cameras, tank tracks, legs, and arms, made from plastic, cardboard, metal, kits, lunchboxes, and modified toys. Danny authored Robotics at Home with Raspberry Pi Pico, published in 2023 by Packt, and wrote magazine articles for The MagPi. He runs the robotics YouTube channel Orionrobots and brings his robots to events like Pi Wars and Arduino Day. Danny has run robotics clubs since 2005, and currently mentors at a robotics track CoderDojo KU, where he shows kids how to program a fleet of MicroPython robots.
