Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript

Build robotic projects using Johnny-Five and control hardware with JavaScript and Raspberry Pi

Kassandra Perch

• Publisher: Packt Publishing
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781789342055
• eBook ISBN: 9781789346732
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Hardware
• Index: Computer Science

Leverage Raspberry Pi 3 and different JavaScript platforms to build exciting Robotics projects

Key Features

• Build robots that light up and make noise
• Learn to work with Raspberry Pi 3 and JavaScript
• Connect your Johnny-Five projects to external APIs and create your own IoT

Book Description

There has been a rapid increase in the use of JavaScript in hardware and embedded device programming. JavaScript has an effective set of frameworks and libraries that support the robotics ecosystem.

Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript starts with setting up an environment to program robots in JavaScript. Then, you will dive into building basic-level projects such as a line-following robot. You will walk through a series of projects that will teach you about the Johnny-Five library, and develop your skills with each project. As you make your way through the chapters, you'll work on creating a blinking LED, before moving on to sensors and other more advanced concepts. You will then progress to building an advanced-level AI-enabled robot, connect their NodeBots to the internet, create a NodeBots Swarm, and explore MQTT.

By the end of this book, you will have gained hands-on experience in building robots using JavaScript

What you will learn

• Install and run Node.js and Johnny-Five on Raspberry Pi
• Assemble, code, and run an LED project
• Leverage JavaScript libraries to build exciting robots
• Use sensors to collect data from the world around you
• Employ servos and motors to make your project move
• Add internet capabilities to your Johnny-Five project

Who this book is for

Hands-On Robotics with JavaScript is for individuals who have prior experience with Raspberry Pi 3 and like to write sketches in JavaScript. Basic knowledge of JavaScript and Node.js will help you get the most out of this book.

Contributors

About the author

Kassandra Perch is an open web developer and supporter. She began as a frontend developer and moved to server-side with the advent of Node.js and was especially enthralled by the advance of the NodeBots community. She travels the world speaking at conferences about NodeBots and the fantastic community around them.

Thank you very much to my very patient editors at Packt—I brought things down to the wire more than once and you all have handled it exceptionally. To my mentor, Ray—you taught me that there's always room for improvement. To my mother, Kelly, father Joe, sister Kaitlynn, and brother Alex—you have been there for me my whole life, and I love you all dearly. Finally, to Raquel Vélez and Rick Waldron: your NodeBots workshop at JSConf 2013 changed my life, and you're both wonderful stewards of the community.

About the reviewers

Amit Rana is a Passionate Electronics Engineer, Maker, an Embedded Systems Professional, and Trainer. He has founded and is running three different firms in Electronics R & D, Product Development, and Robotics education. He holds a master's degree in electronics engineering. He has over 10 years of experience in embedded system designing and programming using various microcontrollers, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi with wireless technologies. He is also a professional writer who writes blogs on technology and education. He writes assignments on technical documents for few clients and also writes blogs on his website.

Shahid Memon is an analytical master of science in autonomous robotics engineering graduate possessing a bachelor's degree in computer science. He has collaborated with colleagues on product feasibility studies and new product ideas to meet clients' needs and support the company objectives. He has coordinated several product development projects and assisted in the design and testing phase. He is a strategic thinker with the ability to drive company goals and analyze research impacting products and business needs. He is an avid researcher of the latest trends within the technology industry and how it affects the business. He is a proven leader having outstanding communication, interpersonal, project management, and supervisory skills....

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright and Credits
• Dedication
• Packt Upsell
• Contributors
• Preface
• Setting Up Your Development Environment
• Creating Your First Johnny-Five Project
• Building Interactive Projects with RGB LED
• Bringing in Input with Buttons
• Using a Light Sensor to Create a Night-Light
• Using Motors to Move Your Project
• Using Servos for Measured Movement
• The Animation Library
• Getting the Information You Need
• Using MQTT to Talk to Things on the Internet
• Building a NodeBots Swarm
• Assessments
• Other Books You May Enjoy