No comments about Engineering Design: A Materials and Processing Approach.

No comments about Ph.I.L.S. version 3.0 CD-ROM.

No comments about Chinese Aircraft: China's Aviation Industry Since 1951.

3 comments about Introduction to Autonomous Mobile Robots (Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Agents).

1. Having spent years working in this field, this book
   in my opinion places the emphasis on one of the most
   basic yet most important robotics problems of today:
   mobility. It also addresses other broad issues related
   to mobile robots. Despite the book's breadth, it is filled
   with numerous great examples of functioning robots.
   The robotics problems tackled by each chapter are
   well explained and the exposition is deep enough for
   the reader to truly understand the main issues and
   the main solutions associated with each research challenge.
   It is a book that in my opinion can be enjoyed by
   both an expert and a complete novice in robotics. It's
   fun to browse, yet if you want to delve into more detail on
   any given topic you can.



2. This book is one of only a few of its kind. That is, it is a book that focuses on the computational issues in robotics rather than the all-too familiar hobbyist approach.
   Chapter one is somewhat expendable, since it is simply a prosaic overview of the entire text. Chapter two talks about the theory of robot motion at a high level, with few helpful technical details. Chapter three, "Mobile Robot Kinematics", is where the book takes a dramatic upturn in quality. The computations of robot kinematics are discussed in detail for several kinds of robotic wheels. To really understand this chapter, the reader should already be familiar with dynamics and statics as well as the concepts of three dimensional rotation and matrices. For a companion to the kinematic material, I suggest Craig's "Introduction to Robotics: Mechanics and Control (3rd Edition)". It is much better than the reviewers say. Chapter four covers the various sensors used in robotics, as well as the mathematics needed in the integration of those sensors. The chapter concludes with some basic image processing and computer vision techniques. The material here is broad but somewhat shallow. I suggest that you already be familiar with basic image processing techniques and computer vision, or possibly have a copy of Gonzales & Woods "Digital Image Processing" handy, as well as a copy of Trucco & Verri's "Introductory Techniques for 3D Computer Vision". This is especially true if you wish to grasp some of the statistical techniques at the end of chapter four. Chapters five and six, on localization and navigation, respectively, are mathematically deep. The material on the Kalman Filter is somewhat oversimplified, and to truly grasp the subject of Kalman Filtering one will need to go to an outside source for a full tutorial. In my case, my instructor's notes were sufficient.
   In summary, this is a very good book for someone who is mathematically mature enough to handle the computational aspects of mobile robotics. The reader should already understand dynamics, statics, numerical linear algebra, image processing, artificial intelligence, and computer vision. This book collects and connects all of these concepts well, but you will have to go digging elsewhere for the complete amount of detail required to perform all of the calculations for the methods described in this book. In short, computational robotics is a type of "capstone course" for engineers/computer scientists with the correct background and reference library, and for those engineers, this is the best guide published to date.



3. I'm using this as my primary reference for a university course I'm teaching at the advanced senior / beginning graduate level. It is helpful in that the material is organized well, and many of the important algorithms, equations, and methods are described in adequate detail. It is by no means a textbook in the regular sense. There are no problems or student exercises. (I am generating those as I go.) Some of the sections are very well written, others seem a bit poorly edited. There are a number of typos and composition errors that are annoying. It seems that, as with so many technical works these days, no one is really "minding the store" when it comes to final publication. Nevertheless, the overall result is a good, solid reference which can serve as a starting point for generating a set of class notes. The bibliography and web links are very helpful as well. I would suggest very carefully reviewing this book before adopting it as a required textbook for a class.

1 comments about Practical IDL Programming.

1. If you're like me, you've probably been confused at times by the semantics of IDL. I've been using IDL for several years now and I still run into obstacles every now and then. What I needed was a book that went through the basics first (like a C or Fortran book) and then covered the really practical stuff like plotting, imaging, saving output etc. Liam Gumley has done a great job here in showing the reader how to put IDL to work. I also own Dave Fanning's book, and the two books complement each other nicely. However I'd have to give the edge to Practical IDL Programming for it's clear and straightforward explanation of IDL fundamentals, and for very clear and well explained example programs, many of which I now use every day.

3 comments about Orbital Mechanics: For Engineering Students (Aerospace Engineering).

1. The book contains good and applicable content for basic orbital mechanics. However, it is riddled with annoying typos and errors with no errata to be found. As an expensive textbook one would expect more care.



2. Good book, but with typos here and there. There is an errata if you search for the book's website and most of the errors you can spot easily. What makes this book especially useful are the MATLAB functions, which allow you to implement the theory without having to debug newly written code (this is more time consuming, than difficult).
   
   This is however a beginner's book into orbital mechanics, but gets the job done if you want to sim a basic interplanetary mission relatively accurately. For a more refined approach with I would suggest "Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics" by Hughes.



3. With textbook prices continuing the trend of double every year, it's about time that a useful text can also be affordable, great text for learning and understanding space flight, includes MatLab algorithms!

1 comments about Building Technology: Mechanical and Electrical Systems, 2nd Edition.

1. A Great book on the fundamentals of engineering. It is used in many colleges. It helped me a lot for my most recent science fair project.

5 comments about Aircraft Control and Simulation.

1. The chief virtue is its clarity. I've worked directly in this field since 1986, and wish I'd picked up the 1st edition in 1992 rather than finding the 2nd edition in 2006. Most of the material I've picked up through coursework and on-the-job training, but this book presents a thorough, practical and understandable development of each aspect of aircraft control and simulation. In addition, the 1st chapter provides the basis for incorporating oblate, rotating Earth equations into gravitational and kinematics modeling, which is the reason I bought the book.
   
   Roughly, the book covers:
   * Kinematics and Dynamics
   * Quaternions
   * Properties of Aircraft
   * Simulation, Trim, Linearization
   * Linear Analysis
   -- State Space Models
   -- Transfer Functions
   -- Frequency Response
   * Handling Qualities
   * Stability Augmentation
   * Autopilots
   * Linear Quadratic Regulator
   * Model Following Design
   * Multivariable Frequency Domain Analysis
   * Observers and the Kalman Filter
   * Discrete (Digital) Control
   
   NOTE: The 1st chapter of the 2nd Edition is substantially enhanced vs. the 1st chapter of the 1st Edition. Several practical needs are now covered in better detail. Quaternion math is added. An algorithm for converting from Earth-centered Inertial coordinates to Geodetic Latitude and Altitude for an oblate Earth model is now provided. If a flat Earth model is ok to use, the 1st Edition is a very good aircraft controls book. If a rotating oblate Earth model is also required, only the 2nd Edition will do.



2. Used this book as a reference book for a UAV Guidance and Control class. Worked well, but there is a revised and updated version.



3. This book is not meant to cover Flight Mechanics neither to discussing Aircraft Equations of Motion.
   This book is really focused in aircraft flight simulation (not aircraft systems simulation) and aircraft flight controls.
   This is really the most complete reference concerning flight control laws for all flight phases. The authors make extensive use of Modern Control in State Space formulation. Very few topics use Classical Control.
   The text is undoubtedly a very good starting point for any engineer involved in flight controls and flight control laws design for new aircraft concepts, although, some more dedicated discussions are missing on some topics related to the newest technologies such as Fly-By-Wire, Power-By-Wire, Side stick use versus Flight Handling Qualities, Robust Control and Predictive Controls.
   This book is a MUST for any flight controls engineer in introductory level. However, attention, you will need to take classes to go through this book. The authors do not delay the text flow to discuss minor details or lengthy mathematical derivations; they simply jump to the right point. Thus, this is very difficult to go through the whole content without help of an experienced Professor.



4. As an engineering student, I like the design of this book, 1st. And the contents are also pretty nice, so far. The complete review, however, should be done after reading the last page, I think.



5. As an aerospace engineer I consider this book an absolute must have. This book is usable as a reference work but also as a academic course textbook. It is extremely complete: From vector and quaternion kinematics to rigid body dynamics to static stability analysis. From basic aerodynamics to the derivation of aircraft force and moment coefficients. From state space models to robust output feedback design. Summarizing: Aircraft Control and Simulation covers the complete track from basic dynamics to a fully functional flight simulator. When you need a graduate level text on simulation and control theory that can also serve as a reference work you should look no further!

2 comments about Mechanics of Fluids.

1. I used it because I teach in the Santiago Mariño Politech in Maracay City, but I was surprise that the select problems only have solutions until chapter 8, and I need the rest of the chapter select problems solutions.



2. This book is one of the worst textbooks I've had. The example problems do not contain units, and skip vital steps to arriving at the solutions. In lieu of this, the authors have used such statements as, "of course" and "so"-- a true sign of a bad textbook. This one gets sold back at the end of the semester.

2 comments about Low Pressure Boilers, Second Edition.

1. This is among the best written books on the topic I've come across. It is easily understood and has many diagrams and photos to help explain the principles. Chapters arrangement covers all the workings of boilers from the physical properties of steam to the boiler to safety issues for the boiler room. Many states recommend the book as a resource in preparing for boiler exams.
   
   Some of the chapters belabor their points too much. For example, the fuel chapter becomes monotonous due to its length. Some of the topics are in the "who cares" catagory. Others are short and to the point. I'm not sure why the author took so much time in making his points in the long chapters.
   
   Another peculiarity is the chapter on cooling systems. This is, after all, a book on boilers so is a cooling chapter really necessary? I doubt it.
   
   I can't comment on the CD-ROM as I've not actually used it. In fact I haven't even taken it from its pouch. Maybe I'll update this review if I ever use the disk.
   
   All in all this is a very good book and I've even incorporated its theories into in-house training programs for my mechanical staff.



2. ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THE ISBN # WHEN YOU ORDER A BOOK!! I assumed that when I typed in the ISBN # that Amazon would only produce the books with matching #s. I was wrong. Amazon brings up all books with the same name NOT the same ISBN #. I just spent $40+ dollars on a book that is outdated. I realize that most editions are very close in content but this could cause some real issues for somebody. The book holds a lot of good information otherwise.