Radio control (RC) is a 100 year-old technology. RC requires both a transmitter and a receiver. The control box sends commands to the robot the same way you change channels on the TV with the remote.
The difference between RC (radio control) and IR (infrared control) is in the frequency of the signals. With the radio controller, the light waves that carry the command information are lower energy, lower frequency signals. The TV remote uses higher energy, higher frequency infrared signals called CIR (consumer infrared).
Both RC and CIR require circuit design at a college graduate level. However, wired remote controls are well within the reach of any young budding scientist.
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By simply removing both the battery pack and switch assembly from the robot, stuffing them in a box, and extending the wires from the box to the robot, you’ve got a wired remote control and a lightweight (and usually faster-moving) robot.
Simple remote controls are a great addition for both the waterbot and race cars. Once the kids build the robot and they’ve gotten over the initial “WOW!” factor, they’ll probably wonder how to turn it off so they can work on it further.
This is an excellent place for a question… “How are you going to turn the motor on and off easily?”
Use the simple SPST switch for these two robots and use 10’ long wires (flexible one-line (2-wire) telephone cable works well).
Materials:
- your robot that you want to control (use any from this section)
- index card
- 2 brass fasteners
- 1 paper clip
- 2 additional alligator clip lead wires
- optional: plastic soap container
- optional: drill with drill bits
Advanced Tip: When you've mastered this switch, you can substitute the DPDT switch in your robot - this is the switch we use in the underwater ROV robot experiment.
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Please email a nice, well-focused picture of your connections to [email protected] and we’ll take a look.
my switch didn’t work even after i switched the leads
I figured out a remote control so that when I turn on my SPST switch[this is attached to my jigglebot with alligator wires] my jigglebot turned on. I figured out a way to wire my remote control so that it worked. I thought of it myself!!!
I try to re-use as many parts as I can from one project to the next. There is one case where we need 3 batteries, so I show you how to modify one of the packs so that it will work.
I have a question, why do you always use a 2 battery pack? Could you use a 1 battery pack, or 3 battery pack?
Yes – try it and see how it works!
can you use steel fasteners
Yes you can put the batteries and switch right on the robot and it will zip away! Or do you mean radio control like an R/C airplane?
what if you could make it without wire connected to the robot 🙂
Thx
You can use nails or steel tacks, but they might need a little dab of hot glue on the tips to keep them from falling out. Does that help?
Is there any other option except for brass fasteners
Yes, but you’ll have to do something so they don’t slide out of the holes. A dab of hot glue after you’ve made the electrical connections?
we dont have that many brass fateners could we use some thumb tacks?
Cut one of the wires between the motor and battery pack, and then connect two very long wires from the remote control to one wire on the battery and the other long wire to the motor. And send me a pix when it works!!
I need help! All I need to know is how to hook up the jigglebot with the remote!!!! 🙂
Raena
It sounds like an issue with your internet connection speed. Try this:
1. Click play on the video
2. Click PAUSE and wait for it to load completely
3. Click PLAY again.
Did that help?
Hey Aurora,
This video keeps on pausing in the middle of words, going on silently and then starting again in a different places so I can’t hear what you’re trying to say. Thanks, Jasmin
I just found some brass fasters bt thanks anyway
Hi Liam! Can you find something else that conducts electricity and can hold that paperclip in place? Or even place a piece of tape in the middle of the paperclip (the lower half) and hook the wire clips onto either ends (where the fasteners would normally be)? I know you can figure something inventive out… that’s what real scientists do! 🙂
Hey Aurora, it’s Liam what if you don’t have brass fasters?
Absolutely! So… that makes you think, though, doesn’t it? What IS a robot? What makes a robot different from a penguin, or a rock?
SpideyRae says:
If it has a remote control is it still a robot – (techniquliy)
Apryl Henry wrote: “We cut a phone cord, but it had only 2 wires; any suggestions for where to find a cord with 4 wires as in the video?”
You want to find Cat3 or Cat5 network cable (there may be more wires in there than you need, so just sip off the excess). Either one of those will work fine.
We cut a phone cord, but it had only 2 wires; any suggestions for where to find a cord with 4 wires as in the video?