When a science fair experiment goes awry, Sam, Artie, and Emmie must save the town of Sitting Duck from a robot that wants to eradicate humans.

A curse is not a big deal. Sitting Duck has already survived five disasters, so what’s the worst that can happen, really? Well... you’re about to find out. During Sitting Duck Founder’s holiday, the town gathers to view the legendary pirate ship that brought the town’s founder to their shores. ButSam, Arty, and Emmie soon learn it carries more than just treasure and swords—an ancient pirate curse is sweeping across the town, turning people to stone! Who has unleashed this deadly curse and why? Sam, Artie, and Emmie must take to the high seas before their town is wiped off the map for good! Filled with funny illustrations and tips to survive a pirate curse, R. McGeddon’s Disaster Diaries: Cursed! will have middle-grade readers laughing out loud! Survive all the disasters: Disaster Diaries: Zombies! Disaster Diaries: Aliens! Disaster Diaries: Brainwashed! Disaster Diaries: Robots! Disaster Diaries: Spiders! An Imprint Book

"Giant spiders overrun the town of Sitting Duck, and Sam, Artie, and Emmie must work together to save the day"--

How do you survive an encounter with a 6-foot tall spider? 1) Run away screaming 2) Try to pet it 3) Ask it nicely to spin you a silk dress Find out in the fifth installment of this silly series, when Sam, Arty, and Emmie save the town of Sitting Duck from another disaster! New student Felicia Forester quickly becomes the star of science class! But she secretly runs dangerous science experiments that soon have the entire town completely overrun with giant, human-eating spiders! To make matters even worse, spiders are Sam’s greatest fear. Emmie and Arty must help him overcome his phobia to face the eight-legged crawlies—or their town will be totally infested! Disaster Diaries includes funny illustrations and survival tips to avoid impending doom —and face your fears! Don’t miss the other Sitting Duck adventures by R. McGeddon: Zombies! Aliens! Brainwashed! Robots! An Imprint Book

This book offers the definitive guide to the theory and practice of disaster robotics. It can serve as an introduction for researchers and technologists, a reference for emergency managers, and a textbook in field robotics. Written by a pioneering researcher in the field who has herself participated in fifteen deployments of robots in disaster response and recovery, the book covers theory and practice, the history of the field, and specific missions. After a broad overview of rescue robotics in the context of emergency informatics, the book provides a chronological summary and formal analysis of the thirty-four documented deployments of robots to disasters that include the 2001 collapse of the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and numerous mining accidents. It then examines disaster robotics in the typical robot modalities of ground, air, and marine, addressing such topics as robot types, missions and tasks, and selection heuristics for each modality. Finally, the book discusses types of fieldwork, providing practical advice on matters that include collecting data and collaborating with emergency professionals. The field of disaster robotics has lacked a comprehensive overview. This book by a leader in the field, offering a unique combination of the theoretical and the practical, fills the gap.

This book introduces readers to the latest findings on disaster robotics. It is based on the ImPACT Tough Robotics Challenge, a national project spearheaded by the Japan Cabinet Office that focuses on developing robotics technologies to aid in disaster response, recovery and preparedness. It presents six subprojects that involve robot platforms and several component technologies used in conjunction with robots: cyber rescue canines, which are digitally empowered rescue dogs; serpent-like robots for searching debris; serpent-like robots for plant/infrastructure inspection; UAVs for gathering information on large areas struck by disaster; legged robots for plant/infrastructure inspection in risky places; and construction robots for recovery tasks that require both power and precision. The book offers a valuable source of information for researchers, engineers and practitioners in safety, security and rescue robotics, disaster robotics, and plant and infrastructure maintenance. It will also appeal to a wider demographic, including students and academics, as it highlights application scenarios and the total concept for each robot in various scientific and technical contexts. In addition to a wealth of figures and photos that explain these robots and systems, as well as experimental data, the book includes a comprehensive list of published papers from this project for readers to refer to. Lastly, an external website offers video footage and updated information from the International Rescue System Institute.

Gain the basic skills you'd need to live through a cataclysmic event—one humbling and angst-filled lesson at a time We're inundated daily with images of chaos and catastrophe from movies, books, and the nightly news. When Sam Sheridan became a father, these tales of disaster became impossible to ignore, and he was beset with nightmares about being unable to protect his son. He soon realized, however, that each possible doomsday scenario required a different skillset, and in order to really survive the apocalypse, he'd have to learn everything, from starting a fire to stealing a car, learning to fight with a knife, and even building an igloo. With just the right mix of seriousness, paranoia, and self-deprecation, The Disaster Diaries is irresistible armchair adventure reading that informs as much as it entertains.