Special Science Teleclass: Robotics

Monday November 3, 2014
This is a recording of a recent live teleclass I did with thousands of kids from all over the world. I've included it here so you can participate and learn, too!

Spark together electric motors, build homemade burglar alarms, wire up circuits and build your own robot from junk! Create your own whizzing, hopping, dancing, screeching, swimming, crawling, wheeling, robot during class. We'll cover hot topics in electricity, magnetism, electrical charges, robot construction, sensors and more.

[am4show have='p8;p9;p98;p11;p38;' guest_error='Guest error message' user_error='User error message' ] Materials:
  • AA battery case (Jameco 216081)
  • Two AA batteries for your battery case**
  • A couple of LEDs (You can use any under 3V, but if you need recommendations, try Jameco 2-lead LEDs or 3-lead LEDs)
  • Set of 10 alligator wires (Jameco 10444)
  • One or two 1.5-3V DC motors (Jameco 231925)
  • Index card
  • 6 brass fasteners
  • Two large paper clips
  • One foam block (2” cube or larger)
  • 1 wooden clothespin
  • 10 wooden skewers
  • Drill & bit the size of the motor shaft diameter
  • Hot glue gun, razor and adult assistant
  • OPTIONAL: Buzzer (Jameco 24872)
**Note about batteries: The cheap dollar-store kind labeled “Heavy Duty” are recommended. Do not use alkaline batteries like "Duracell" or "Energizer" for your experiments with us during this class. (We'll explain during the class.)



Download the worksheet for this teleclass HERE.

Key Concepts

A robot not only moves but it can also interact with its environment and it does that by using sensors, like light detectors that can see light, you can have motion detectors that can sense movement, touch sensors, pressure sensors, infrared light sensors, proximity sensors, water detectors, spit sensors, detecting all different kinds of stuff!

Robots need electricity to make the motors move, the LEDs light up, the buzzers to sound, and more. When you move electrons around, that’s what creates the electricity. When you rub a balloon on your head for example, you’re picking off the electrons from the atoms in your hair and sticking them on the balloon. There's a static charge on your head due to the extra electrons.

The electrons have a negative charge, and so just like the north and south poles of a magnet attract each other, the negative charge of the electron is attracted to positive charges. That’s why your batteries have plus and minus signs on them. Electricity is when the electric charge is moving around inside the wires in the circuit.

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Amphibious Robot

Tuesday June 14, 2011

Amphibious vehicles is a craft which travels on both land and water. And it doesn't need to be limited to just cars. There are amphibious bicycles, buses, and RVs. Hovercraft are amphibious, too!

Amphibious crafts started back in the 1800s as steam-powered barges. In the 1950s, the German Schimmwagen was a small jeep that could travel in water as well as on land. The most popular amphibious vehicle on the market is the 1960 Amphibicar (photo shown left) and later the Gibbs Aquada.

The secret to making an amphibious vehicle is this: it must be designed so it floats in water (it must be watertight and buoyant) and robust enough to travel on land. Many amphibious creations either leaked, sank, or never made it off the drawing board. But that's what being a scientist is all about: coming up with an overall goal and figuring out a way to overcome the problems faced along the way.

We're going to build our own version using items like foam blocks and hobby motors. Are you ready?
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Materials:

  • foam block (at least 2" x 6")
  • propeller
  • straw
  • two wood skewers
  • four wheels (tops from milk jugs, yogurt containers, etc)
  • 3V DC motor
  • propeller
  • 2 alligator clip leads
  • AA battery case with 2 AA batteries
  • hot glue gun
  • scissors


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Propeller Car

Monday May 31, 2010

The great news is that many of the problematic airplane troubles were figured out a long time ago by two amazing people: the Wright brothers.


The Wright brothers also took an airfoil (a fancy word for “airplane wing”), turned it sideways, and rotated it around quickly to produce the first real propeller that could generate an efficient amount of thrust to fly an aircraft.


Before the Wright brothers perfected the airfoil, people had been using the same “screw” design created by Archimedes in 250 BC. This twist in the propeller was such a superior design that modern propellers are only 5% more efficient than those created a hundred years ago by the two brilliant Wright brothers.


We’re going to use a propeller on our basic race car chassis (frame) to see how much thrust we’d need to make it move. If you don’t want to make the fancy triangle-shaped body frame, you can substitute a foam block or two (which will make your car able to go in water, too!)


Are you ready?
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Materials:


  • 4 popsicle sticks
  • 2 straws
  • 4 wheels or lids from film canisters, or milk jug lids (anything plastic, round, and about the size of a quarter)
  • 1 propeller
  • 2 skewers
  • 1 film can or foam block
  • 3VDC motor
  • AA battery case with AA batteries
  • 2 alligator clip lead wires
  • hot glue gun with glue sticks

Need help finding propellers? Rip one off an old fan or toy airplane, such as a balsa flyer.



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Bristle Brush Bot

Saturday May 1, 2010

This is the simplest robot you can make… out of old parts from around the house. While this little robot doesn’t use energy from the sun or wind, we’ve placed it here with other alternative energy projects because the parts come from the trash bin.


This project is an extension of the Jigglebot robot from Unit 10.


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You’ll need to find:


  • Old toothbrush you can destroy
  • Tiny vibrator motor (you can rip one out of an old cell phone) – just make sure it’s got a weight attached to the motor shaft.
  • Small watch battery (make sure it’s around 3V to match the motor)
  • Scissors and/or razor
  • Tape and a hot glue gun
  • Optional: Paper clips for claws and feet

Here’s what you do:



What’s going on? Your BristleBot uses the toothbrush bristles as legs and an eccentric motor to shake and wobble it by tiny amounts to look like a smooth motion. The larger the weight, the more you’ll see the wobbling action. Try making one out of the head of a scrub brush or small broom!


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Waterbots

Sunday March 7, 2010

ROV stands for Remotely Operated Vehicle. These robots are used by scientists to explore the waters both offshore and in the deep sea, and often bring back samples and/or take video of their underwater findings. ROVs usually have a tether from the vehicle to the boat, which lightens up the load quite a bit (as it no longer needs to carry its own power or data storage). Powerful motors, such as bilge pumps or 24VDC motors, enable this robot to move in all six directions. ROVs are designed to be slightly positive in buoyancy, so they can surface automatically during power failures.


Of the robots we’re going to build, waterbots have the highest instant-success rate. You basically attach a motor to a piece of foam, stick it in the water, and it either floats and zips around, or capsizes and acts like an odd submarine. Either way, kids shriek with delight that their creation actually moves.


We’re going to use foam to create a waterbot, which will be powered by a simple electrical circuit. The hardest part of this activity will actually be building it stable enough so it doesn’t capsize. Boats are always built in a way so they don’t get pushed or flipped over easily by carrying a ballast, or extra weight, at the lowest part of the boat. You’ll need to figure out where to out your motor and batteries (which weigh a lot compared to a foam block) in order to balance your boat.


One of the biggest hurdles to overcome when building junkyard robots is friction. Since the motors have high speed and low torque, they can be difficult to use without a gearbox (which is both hard to find and out of the scope of this class). Since water has little friction, the robot will move about quite easily in the wet environment. We offer kids waterproof materials to build their robots with so that in the event their invention has trouble moving, we usually toss it in the pool to see if it can swim… which sparks another avenue of creativity and another round of improvements. Just be sure to keep the batteries out of the water. Are you ready?


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Materials:


  • 1 propeller (read comments for ideas on where to find one)
  • foam block (this can be a scrap piece from packing material)
  • 3VDC motor
  • AA battery case with AA batteries
  • 2 alligator clip lead wires
  • hot glue gun with glue sticks


When you stick a block of wood in the water, it floats. If you make a small bowl out of tinfoil and place it in the water, it will also float. But if you crumple up the foil into a ball, it sinks. Certain materials like ice, wood, and foam blocks float no matter what shape they are. Some materials use their shape to decide whether they sink or float. A block of steel will usually sink unless you shape it into a boat (think about gigantic oceanliners!) Clay works the same way, as do many materials. So why is that?


Let’s take a look at our steel example. Steel is more dense than water. One pound of water takes up more space than one pound of steel, so it sinks when you place it in water. When you shape the steel into a boat, the steel fills with air. Steel and air together are less dense than water, so your oceanliner floats.


Hot tips for wet robots: You won’t get shocked by placing the batteries in the water – the amperage is too low. The motors are completely safe to submerge in the water, but they won’t last more than a few weeks from this treatment so stock up on a few extra. You can waterproof the motors (seal holes on motor with electrical tape, insert into a tight-fitting canister with a snap-on lid, seal with silicone, punch hole in lid, solder wires to terminals, let dry, snap on lid), but it’s often more trouble than it’s worth.


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Jigglebots

Sunday March 7, 2010

jigglebotEver wonder how a cell phone vibrates? What mechanism could be in such a tiny space to make the entire phone jiggle around? Well, there’s a tiny motor inside with an off-center weight on the shaft, called an eccentric drive.


You can still see eccentric drive mechanisms in older steam engines where the rotational motion is converted to liner? movement. Eccentrics are also found on tandem bicycles with timing chains.


Kids can make this robot in less than five minutes, but it will take hours to get all their modifications and adjustments just right. This robot works by wobbling, and the sloppier the kids are in their construction, the better the robot dances around. Play with the placement of the weight (battery pack) and the legs. Add more skewers, adjust their position and angle until you get it dancing without toppling over.


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Materials:


  • 10 (or more) skewers
  • foam block
  • 3VDC motor
  • wooden clothespin
  • AA battery case with AA batteries
  • 2 alligator clip lead wires
  • hot glue gun with glue sticks
  • Optional: gear that fits onto the motor (you can alternately drill a hole in the clothespin as shown in the video)

Start building your dancing jigglebot by watching this video:



Most kids will make the legs parallel to the vertical, but quickly find that having the skewers flared out makes for a more stable design. Some jigglebots will spin in circles, others just stand and shake, and still others will zip off at a good pace in a straight line. We use a clothespin so you can add more weight (clip something inside the clothespin) if you need to.


Tip: The ‘sloppier’ kids build this robot, the better it moves. Enjoy!


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BumperBot

Sunday March 7, 2010

bumperbot 001If you have a pet, they’ll be sure to get a great workout chasing this nifty little robot. If you can, I totally encourage you to make two or more and have a contest!


This BumperBot is one of the simplest robots you can make that uses a touch sensor, tricycle gear, and simple parts from around the house. (And there’s no computer programming required.) Using a switch that reverses direction upon impact, this robot will have your kid’s mind-wheels spinning. Be sure to follow the wiring directions EXACTLY as shown or it won’t work right!


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Here’s what you need:


  • four fat popsicle sticks
  • two pennies
  • 1.5-3VDC hobby motor
  • two AA battery cases with AA batteries
  • alligator clip wires
  • 2 wooden skewers
  • 2 straws
  • three wheels or lids from film canisters, or milk jug lids (anything plastic, round, and about the size of a quarter)
  • scissors
  • hot glue gun and glue sticks

See if you can improve our design after you’ve built one. Here’s what you do:



Okay, so – here’s the deal: we’re going to make a home-brew slide switch that will reverse the direction of the motor when pressed. You can add additional circuits to sound a buzzer or blink on the headlights when the motors reverse, too!


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Race Cars

Sunday March 7, 2010

racer5Racerbots can steer, unlike the Jigglebot. If you have more than one motor on your robot frame, you can turn either left, right, or spin on command. Wired remote control instructions follow this project.


These racerbots are the toughest of these robots to build. The wheels need to be squarely set on their shafts, all wheels need to be parallel, long wires out of the way, the motors spinning in the right direction, the battery pack in the right position… does this sound like a headache yet? Pay attention to construction details in the video and you’ll have less to fix later on.


Construction Tip: Cut the dowels in half to use for the axles and use the milk jug lids or film canister tops for wheels (you can also rip small, lightweight wheels off an old toy if they are about the size of a quarter). You may need to sand the dowels slightly if they are hard to fit into the wheels.


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Materials:


  • 4 popsicle sticks
  • 1 straw
  • 4 wheels or lids from film canisters, or milk jug lids (anything plastic, round, and about the size of a quarter)
  • 1 skewer
  • Two 3VDC motors
  • AA battery case with AA batteries
  • 2 alligator clip lead wires
  • hot glue gun with glue sticks


Troubleshooting: To increase your motor speed, you’ll need to add a second battery pack. If you find the back wheels are slipping, run a bead of hot glue around the circumference of each wheel and carefully lay the flat side of a cut rubber band around the wheel (trim excess).


If the wheels spin in the opposite direction, your car will spin donuts (which could be fun!). If the car doesn’t move at all, use the basic circuit troubleshooting tips covered in previous experiments. (Are the batteries in the right way? Metal-to-metal connection? Fresh batteries? New wires?) Check to see if all four wheels spin freely without power. Roll the car down a ramp – does it travel relatively straight? If your robot keeps tripping over its wires, wrap the long lengths around the popsicle sticks or use shorter wires (cut in half, strip the insulation off, twist the exposed metal end on your electrical connections, and secure with tape).


What’s the next step? The instructions here are just for the chassis and propulsion systems of your robots. We’ll help you with the body framework and getting the robot to move. It’s up to you to add eyeballs, tentacles, claws, or whatever else you want to this framework.


You can click here to learn how to make the remote control for the waterbot and the racecar soap box remote controls. Have fun!


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Superfast Bug Bot

Sunday March 7, 2010

bugbot2 001This project is advanced students. If you like tiny robots, then this one is for you! Powered by cheap hobby motors, this fast little robot zips ’round and avoids obstacles using momentary switches and an idler wheel for a tail.


I recommend watching the entire video first, then rewind and watch again, this time building as you go. Make sure you have all your parts laid out ahead of time, or you’ll get frustrated partway through if you have to stop. You will need a soldering iron to make this project.


Here’s what you do:
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You will need to find:


Tools:


  • Wire strippers
  • Pliers
  • Soldering iron, solder, stand


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Underwater R.O.V. Robot

Sunday March 7, 2010

rov12This project is for advanced students.


Up until 200 years ago, people thought the oceans were bottomless.  The diving bell was one of the first recorded attempts at undersea exploration, and was simply a five-foot inverted cup with viewing holes on a platform that lowered into the water, which allowed people to breathe the trapped air inside… until they ran out of air.  Leonardo da Vinci draw several sketches of underwater submersibles, and in the 1700s, John Lethbridge invented a long wooden cylinder with glass ends as one of the first diving units to reach 60 feet.


In 1930, two explorers used the bathysphere (a giant ball with windows) reached 1,428 feet below the surface, which was later followed by the bathyscape (deep diving vessel) that reached the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, the Marianas Trench, at 35,800 feet in 1960.


The ROVs first made their appearance in the late 1960s, when military and offshore drilling required deeper dives.  In the late 1980s, scientists needed a way to explore the remains of the Titanic, and a lower-cost, lighter weight version design was developed. ROVs are designed to be remote extensions of the operator.


One of the biggest challenges with deep-diving underwater vessels is keeping the tremendous pressure from crumpling the frame.  The project we’re going to design is meant for swimming pools and smaller lakes. When designing your underwater vehicle, you’ll need to pay close attention to the finer details such as waterproofing the electrical motors and maintaining proper balance so that your robot doesn’t flip over or swim in circles.


Learn about thruster motors, create the chassis, and build the controller for these super-popular underwater robots that really swim in water! A fantastic project for parents and kids to work together on. Your underwater robot will move in all six directions and utilizes a 12V power source.


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You are about to embark on the adventure of creating and operating your own ROV underwater robot.  As with all Supercharged Science educational items, we want kids to discover that science isn’t in the special parts that come with a kit, but rather in the imagination and skill of the kid building it.  We strive to avoid parts that are specially made just for a kit, molded plastic pieces, etc. and instead use parts that any kid could buy from the store.  This means that kids can feel free to change things around, use their own ideas to add improvements and whatever else their imagination can come up with.  So on this note, let’s get started.


WARNING: This project is intended for kids over age 12, and requires adult supervision.  Here are things to keep in mind:


  1. The soldering iron reaches temperatures over 750○ F.  It can obviously cause severe burns and serious injury.  Always put it in the stand when not in use.  Don’t look away while using it. Unplug it as soon as you’re done and set it in a place to cool where it won’t get knocked over.
  2. Solder sometimes contains lead.  Just don’t get it near your face and wash your hands when you’re done touching it.  Plus, the usual warning that lead causes disease, it’s toxic, don’t feet it to you pets and keep it away from children.
  3. The thruster motors in this kit are VERY powerful.  The propellers (when turning) will easily cut through skin and flesh if you touch them! (Don’t be fooled because they’re plastic).  NEVER touch them with anything when they are turning.  Treat them like you would a power saw.  Always disconnect power before working on them (short circuits can make them start unexpectedly).
  4. PLEASE use common sense.  Think like a real scientist: If something seems like it might be dangerous, it probably is.  The real world doesn’t have warnings on everything that could possibly hurt you.  I ask that you apply similar good judgment in using this kit.  If you’re not sure, ASK for help.  Ask a parent. And parents, if you need help, email or call us.
  5. Okay, I’m required to say this one: This kit contains small parts, plastic bags and other choking hazards.  Children under 3 years of age should not be allowed to touch it.  (Obviously this is true since it’s meant for kids over 12.)
Omit the 2″ float pieces and instead put a pool noodle around the 1/2″ PVC, and also skip the toilet seal wax for sealing the thrusters (not sure if the video has this step or if we omitted it already) and just use straight hot glue. The frame does not need to be airtight, so if you’re concerned about fumes, just use hot glue for the entire project.
UPDATED ROV DESIGN: Omit the 2″ float pieces and instead put a pool noodle secured with zip ties around the 1/2″ PVC, and seal each thruster with hot glue. The frame does not need to be airtight, so if you’re concerned about fumes from the PVC glue, just use  hot glue for the entire project.

Materials:


The parts you’ll need are as follows:


Glue & Fasteners


  • Superglue (0.5 oz. bottle or more)
  • Hot glue gun and extra glue sticks
  • Tube of silicone sealant or caulking
  • Petroleum jelly (Vaseline)
  • 6 pcs. #6 x ½” stainless steel or brass sheet metal screws
  • 6 pc. #6 stainless steel washers
  • 10 pcs. 6” x 3/16” zip ties
  • Old newspapers to work on
  • Paper towels to clean up with

Frame Parts


  •  5 ft. of ½” schedule 40 PVC pipe (Have it cut into these pieces at the store)
    • 6 pcs. 1.5″ long
    • 8 pcs. 4″ long
    • 2 pcs. 6.5″ long
  • 10 pcs. ½” schedule 40 PVC 90-degree elbows
  •  4 pcs. ½” schedule 40 PVC tee’s
  •  2 ft. of 2” schedule 40 PVC pipe (Have it cut into two 6″ pieces at the store)
  •  4 pcs. 2” schedule 40 PVC end caps
  • 3 thruster housings (plastic vials like film canisters… something that the hobby motors can fit into snugly)
  • 3 pieces of 1” metal semicircular conduit straps (w/2 screw holes. 1” conduit)
  • 10” x 6.5” piece of plastic hardware cloth (1/4” squares) – it looks like a plastic mesh grid. If you have chicken wire on hand, then you can use that instead.

Electrical parts


  • Three 12V DC motors 
  • 3 thruster propellers (drill out with 3/32” holes) – boat propellers from a hobby store work great
  • 3 DPDT center-off screw terminal switches
  • Electrical tape (good quality) OR 2 pcs. #31 wire nut connectors
  • 30 ft. of “CAT-3” (or “CAT-5”) telephone/network cable (8-conductor or 4-pair, AWG 24)
  • Rectangular project box  (Approx. 4” x 6” x 3”)
  • 12V Battery (two 6-volt lantern batteries, an old motorcycle or car battery or an “automotive jump starter” rechargeable power source)

Tools


  • Wire strippers
  • Long nose pliers
  • Soldering iron & stand with solder
  • An electric drill
  • Assorted drill bits (Specifically: 3/32”, 1/8”, 1/4”)
  • Razor knife
  • Hack saw or PVC pipe cutter
  • Flathead screwdrivers
  • Scissors
  • #120 sandpaper
  • A ruler or measuring tape

Okay, so you’re ready to go.  Oh, a couple of notes.  First, if your thruster housings are not snug enough in the pipe clamps, just wrap electrical tape around them a few times to add a little bit of extra thickness.  One other thing.  You may choose to solder alligator clips to your battery wires to make them easier to connect.  Just clip the alligator clip on something large to open its jaws, slip off the rubber part and solder your wire on.


Happy Exploring!



Learn how to turn this project into a winning Science Fair Project!
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Remote Controls I

Sunday March 7, 2010

rc22Radio 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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Remote Controls II

Sunday March 7, 2010

If you've made the waterbot, you can use this wired remove to make the motor turn both forward and reverse. All you need is an extra set of wires (telephone cable with two wires in it work great, or else twist two long wires together... they can be as long as you want.) Enclose the whole thing in a plastic box (I like to use tupperware or a soap box) and drill three holes in the top for the brass fasteners and one in the side for the wire and you're all set!

Materials:

  • your robot that you want to control (use any from this section)
  • index card
  • 3 brass fasteners
  • 1 paper clip
  • 4 additional alligator clip lead wires
  • optional: plastic soap container
  • optional: drill with drill bits

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