Beyond Karel J Robot trades comprehensive coverage of Java low level detail for an understanding of how a language like Java is used to build real programs. It's organization is not that of a reference work, but an enfolding of interesting and necessary concepts used by real programmers. A number of users have asked for more material in the spirit of Karel J Robot. The original book is intended for only the beginning weeks of a course, which leaves some the dilemma of what to do for the rest of the term. This volume is an attempt to discuss some additional ideas as well as some more Java features. The chapter numbering begins where Karel J Robot leaves off and we will frequently make mention of what was learned there. However, we begin to leave the robot world here and will discuss many ideas from beyond that world. The two volumes together should form the basis of a first course in computing using Java. While I have generally followed the guidelines of the College Board recommendations for the APCS AB advanced placement course, I have not attempted to be encyclopedic. We will see int, double, char, etc., but no attempt was made to provide all the rules and caveats of such things. Many books that call themselves text-books seem to me to be, instead, reference works, with everything gathered together nicely to ease looking up information, rather than books to learn from. Instead, I have attempted to show, for the most part, how the features of Java are used to build real programs. This is a book about writing programs, including some quite interesting and difficult programs. You may struggle with some of this material, but the struggle will take you to a better place. I hope you agree that it is worth the work you will put in to it.

Uses a creative approach to teach the basic skills and concepts of programming quickly. This edition offers excellent insights into problem solving and program design processes. It will also improve comprehension of such computer science considerations as loop invariants and recursion. Includes 60 color line drawings.

"With robots, we are inventing a new species that is part material and part digital. The ambition of modern robotics goes beyond copying humans, beyond the effort to make walking, talking androids that are indistinguishable from people. Future robots will have superhuman abilities in both the physical and digital realms. They will be embedded in our physical spaces, with the ability to go where we cannot, and will have minds of their own, thanks to artificial intelligence. They will be fully connected to the digital world, far better at carrying out online tasks than we are. In Robot Futures, the roboticist Illah Reza Nourbakhsh considers how we will share our world with these creatures, and how our society could change as it incorporates a race of stronger, smarter beings. Nourbakhsh imagines a future that includes adbots offering interactive custom messaging; robotic flying toys that operate by means of "gaze tracking"; robot-enabled multimodal, multicontinental telepresence; and even a way that nanorobots could allow us to assume different physical forms. Nourbakhsh follows each glimpse into the robotic future with an examination of the underlying technology and an exploration of the social consequences of the scenario. Each chapter describes a form of technological empowerment -- in some cases, empowerment run amok, with corporations and institutions amassing even more power and influence and individuals becoming unconstrained by social accountability. (Imagine the hotheaded discourse of the Internet taking physical form.) Nourbakhsh also offers a counter-vision: a robotics designed to create civic and community empowerment. His book helps us understand why that is the robot future we should try to bring about."--Jacket.

This creative approach to learning C++ programming introduces readers to Karel the Robot and then shows them how to design programs that instruct Karel to perform complex tasks. Karel's world is essentially a practice field on which readers learn valuable lessons about creating and debugging program. The programs instruct the robot to move and manipulate its environment using object orientation.

Live longer, live stronger, with scientific enhancements and the wonders of technology

"Monty Karel" is an introduction to computer programming for novices. It uses the Python programming language to introduce the principles of dynamic object-oriented programming. It is the latest version in the "Karel The Robot" series, originally developed by Richard Pattis. It is a true successor to the original, emphasizing problem solving in a simple but "Turing Complete" and interesting virtual world. "Monty Karel" stresses problem solving rather than language syntax. It has been shown to be an effective learning environment for novice programmers. A student able to do the exercises in this book, or one of its companions, is truly on his or her way to a deep understanding of programming. Learn to write sophisticated Python code in a few weeks. It is not a comprehensive treatment of Python, but emphasizes problem solving using objects, writing classes, and developing skill in algorithmic and polymorphic thinking. It goes beyond thinking of computing as just "if" and "while." The advantages pointed out by reviewers of the earlier "Karel J Robot" apply to this version as well: "Karel J Robot" is an excellent introduction to modern computer science, without letting students get overwhelmed by the details of a programming language (even though it is real Java). KJR provides a framework for understanding Object-Oriented Programming from the very beginning. Students are encouraged to develop problem-solving skills by producing projects that solve very complex problems with a relatively small set of tools. Don Slater, Carnegie-Mellon University I have been successfully introducing students in grades 9 through 12 to programming using Karel for the past twenty years and "Karel J Robot" is the most effective version yet. Students love it They find principles of OOP (class design, constructors, methods, inheritance, polymorphism) come naturally to them, even before they learn about control structures. They discover recursive solutions without ever being taught recursion. Best of all, Karel is gender neutral --- both girls and boys are so involved and excited that I have to push them out the door and on to their next class when the period ends. Kathy Larson, Kingston High School, Kingston New York "Karel J Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Object-Oriented Programming in Java" takes you on a well-sequenced and thoughtful journey through the essential concepts in a first semester computer science course. Experience computer science at the level that it is most inspiring - the conceptual level. The visual environment will help you teach and your students learn because everyone will have immediate visual feedback, enabling them to see what they are doing. You will leave the Karel world with a deep understanding of polymorphism, inheritance, abstraction, modularization, and step-wise refinement, to name just a few topics. If you are an AP Computer Science teacher, you have just found the perfect guide to help ensure you do not lose sight of the forest (i.e., computer science) through the trees (i.e., the details of the language). Dave Wittry, Troy High School "Karel J Robot" provides an uncluttered setting for laying the foundation for all of the key OO concepts. The perfect "starter" for understanding objects, OO design and OO programming. Michael Goldweber, Xavier University

“Essential reading for all who have a vested interest in the rise of AI.” —Daryl Li, AI & Society “Thought-provoking...Explores how we can best try to ensure that robots work for us, rather than against us, and proposes a new set of laws to provide a conceptual framework for our thinking on the subject.” —Financial Times “Pasquale calls for a society-wide reengineering of policy, politics, economics, and labor relations to set technology on a more regulated and egalitarian path...Makes a good case for injecting more bureaucracy into our techno-dreams, if we really want to make the world a better place.” —Wired “Pasquale is one of the leading voices on the uneven and often unfair consequences of AI in our society...Every policymaker should read this book and seek his counsel.” —Safiya Noble, author of Algorithms of Oppression Too many CEOs tell a simple story about the future of work: if a machine can do what you do, your job will be automated, and you will be replaced. They envision everyone from doctors to soldiers rendered superfluous by ever-more-powerful AI. Another story is possible. In virtually every walk of life, robotic systems can make labor more valuable, not less. Frank Pasquale tells the story of nurses, teachers, designers, and others who partner with technologists, rather than meekly serving as data sources for their computerized replacements. This cooperation reveals the kind of technological advance that could bring us all better health care, education, and more, while maintaining meaningful work. These partnerships also show how law and regulation can promote prosperity for all, rather than a zero-sum race of humans against machines. Policymakers must not allow corporations or engineers alone to answer questions about how far AI should be entrusted to assume tasks once performed by humans, or about the optimal mix of robotic and human interaction. The kind of automation we get—and who benefits from it—will depend on myriad small decisions about how to develop AI. Pasquale proposes ways to democratize that decision-making, rather than centralize it in unaccountable firms. Sober yet optimistic, New Laws of Robotics offers an inspiring vision of technological progress, in which human capacities and expertise are the irreplaceable center of an inclusive economy.

"Karel R Tuesday" is an introduction to computer programming for novices. It uses the Ruby programming language to introduce the principles of dynamic object-oriented programming. It is the latest version in the "Karel The Robot" series, originally developed by Richard Pattis. It is a true successor to the original, emphasizing problem solving in a simple but "Turing Complete" and interesting virtual world. "Karel R Tuesday" stresses problem solving rather than language syntax. It has been shown to be an effective learning environment for novice programmers. A student able to do the exercises in this book, or one of its companions, is truly on his or her way to a deep understanding of programming. Learn to write sophisticated Ruby code in a few weeks. It is not a comprehensive treatment of Ruby, but emphasizes problem solving using objects, writing classes, and developing skill in algorithmic and polymorphic thinking. It goes beyond thinking of computing as just "if" and "while." The advantages pointed out by reviewers of the earlier "Karel J Robot" apply to this version as well: "Karel J Robot" is an excellent introduction to modern computer science, without letting students get overwhelmed by the details of a programming language (even though it is real Java). KJR provides a framework for understanding Object-Oriented Programming from the very beginning. Students are encouraged to develop problem-solving skills by producing projects that solve very complex problems with a relatively small set of tools. Don Slater, Carnegie-Mellon University I have been successfully introducing students in grades 9 through 12 to programming using Karel for the past twenty years and "Karel J Robot" is the most effective version yet. Students love it They find principles of OOP (class design, constructors, methods, inheritance, polymorphism) come naturally to them, even before they learn about control structures. They discover recursive solutions without ever being taught recursion. Best of all, Karel is gender neutral --- both girls and boys are so involved and excited that I have to push them out the door and on to their next class when the period ends. Kathy Larson, Kingston High School, Kingston New York "Karel J Robot: A Gentle Introduction to the Art of Object-Oriented Programming in Java" takes you on a well-sequenced and thoughtful journey through the essential concepts in a first semester computer science course. Experience computer science at the level that it is most inspiring - the conceptual level. The visual environment will help you teach and your students learn because everyone will have immediate visual feedback, enabling them to see what they are doing. You will leave the Karel world with a deep understanding of polymorphism, inheritance, abstraction, modularization, and step-wise refinement, to name just a few topics. If you are an AP Computer Science teacher, you have just found the perfect guide to help ensure you do not lose sight of the forest (i.e., computer science) through the trees (i.e., the details of the language). Dave Wittry, Troy High School "Karel J Robot" provides an uncluttered setting for laying the foundation for all of the key OO concepts. The perfect "starter" for understanding objects, OO design and OO programming. Michael Goldweber, Xavier University

A broadly accessible introduction to robotics that spans the most basic concepts and the most novel applications; for students, teachers, and hobbyists. The Robotics Primer offers a broadly accessible introduction to robotics for students at pre-university and university levels, robot hobbyists, and anyone interested in this burgeoning field. The text takes the reader from the most basic concepts (including perception and movement) to the most novel and sophisticated applications and topics (humanoids, shape-shifting robots, space robotics), with an emphasis on what it takes to create autonomous intelligent robot behavior. The core concepts of robotics are carried through from fundamental definitions to more complex explanations, all presented in an engaging, conversational style that will appeal to readers of different backgrounds. The Robotics Primer covers such topics as the definition of robotics, the history of robotics (“Where do Robots Come From?”), robot components, locomotion, manipulation, sensors, control, control architectures, representation, behavior (“Making Your Robot Behave”), navigation, group robotics, learning, and the future of robotics (and its ethical implications). To encourage further engagement, experimentation, and course and lesson design, The Robotics Primer is accompanied by a free robot programming exercise workbook that implements many of the ideas on the book on iRobot platforms. The Robotics Primer is unique as a principled, pedagogical treatment of the topic that is accessible to a broad audience; the only prerequisites are curiosity and attention. It can be used effectively in an educational setting or more informally for self-instruction. The Robotics Primer is a springboard for readers of all backgrounds—including students taking robotics as an elective outside the major, graduate students preparing to specialize in robotics, and K-12 teachers who bring robotics into their classrooms.