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How to Build a Robot - The BeetleBot v2 ( Revisited )

How to Build a Robot - The BeetleBot v2 ( Revisited )
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This is the beetle robot instructables revisited a la MythBusters style!
I originally made a instructables about my beetle robot version 1.

It is now time to show you a new version of this wonderful robot. This new version is much easier to build and fool proof!

The beetle robot (Beetle bot), is a very simple and efficient robot that use no electronics component to avoid obstacle in his path. It use two SPDT switch to avoid obstacles by reversing the opposite motor to pivote and free himself. There is no silicon chip, that is, no integrated circuit, no transistor, no resistor, capacitor, etc.
This mean very cheap to build!

The major modification is the cross antenna. When you have cross antenna, obstacles like a chair leg won't be any danger to the robot. The robot will be able to avoid it. On the original design, the antennas where in a V shape and the chair leg would go right in the middle of the V and the robot would had a hard time to get free.

By having the cross antenna, it also help with the assembly of the robot. The switch are closer together which help in the soldering of the wires.

Here is a little resume turn into a video. Check it out!



This article was created because I got contacted by a Make editor. I then took pictures and redid the beetle for an article that I wrote in the MAKE magazine Volume 12.

After a few month I saw this: Top articles in MAKE 1 - 12.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/03/top_articles_in_make_1_12.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890

It turns out, that my article was one of the most read of there digital magazine!
Here is the digital version of my article.
http://www.make-digital.com/make/vol12/?pg=150

I took 134 pictures, that is 235Mb of files! I had a really hard time to choose the perfect pictures to make this instructable!

In 2010 I made a internship at www.solarbotics.com and made this solderless kit
http://www.solarbotics.com/products/k_jb/
Look at blue and the green beetle bot in the pictures! They look awesome!
The only thing you need is a screwdriver that we give in the kit!




Thank you!

Jerome Demers
www.JeromeDemers.com

 
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Step 1The BeetleBot v2 ( Revisited ) - The component list

The BeetleBot v2 ( Revisited ) - The component list
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This is what you will need to build this robot.

Items for the robot:
2 x 1,5V motors
2 x SPDT ( single pole double throw ) switches with a metal lever
2 x AA or AAA battery
2 x Terminal connector ( see picture )
1 x AA or AAA battery holder
1 x Plastic or wooden pearl ( Spherical bead )
1 x 1 inch x 3 inch piece of metal or aluminum
1 x Toggle switch for the on/off switchs

Paper clips big and small
2 feets of wires around 22/24 Gauge size
Heat shrink that will fit over the motor shaft and some that will fit over the terminal connector
Electric tape and masking tape

Items for the body shell :
Round plastic lid to make the shell of the robot
Some spray can paint, the colour you want.
Clear varnish
Autobody filler putty or epoxy glue
2 x Small magnets to attach shell to body.

You need some 1,5Volts motor, not 3V or no event 12V!!
Each motors are powered by a single AA battery. You will drain your battery if you use a bigger motor. You can find them in toys or even at your local dollarrama, in little car, fans, etc! ( beware, they might really suck you battery down )

the recommended tools for this project:
1 x safety glasses!!
1 x soldering iron
1 x glue gun
1 x wire strippers
1 x side cutter
1 x scissors, knife, x-acto, etc

I recommend you to take the time to read this entire instructable before starting. In every page I have added a lot of pictures, so don't forget to look.

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547 comments
1-40 of 547next »
Jul 14, 2008. 5:30 PMyagrakill says:
how would you know where is positive and negative?
May 26, 2012. 8:37 AMhsarode1 says:
which positive and negative do u want the batteries or the motors.
Jul 14, 2008. 8:31 PMPatented says:
yeah, how to know that?
Jul 15, 2008. 7:19 AMyourtubemeera says:
1- first of all tape the motors on the metal strip,you've got to keep the terminals up . 2- then touch the leads of the battery to any of the motors and see which way it is moving? 3- the way i did it was to mark the direction , in which one motor was moving-on the strip .(see my pics in my comment) 4- the terminal attached to d battery negative is +,and the terminal attached to the battery + is - 5- now mark the signs on the motor u just tested with a permanent marker and the direction on the metal strip too. 6- now the trick is if the terminals of the motors are facing up the signs on the other motor will be just opposite to the one u just marked in order to run both the motors in the same direction. 7-well u can check it using a battery. ( as in step 4 ) 8- dont forget to keep in mind u have to move the motors in the same direction. now mark the signs clearly . 9- thats it u have the same configuration as in the instructable. i pondered over it one whole day , and came up with the idea at night hope it doesnt sound difficult !!!
Jul 30, 2011. 2:54 AMktech95 says:
hey i couldnt understand wat u meant by one motor was moving on the strip?can explain this whole thing again im finding it difficult to make out which one is negative or positive..
Aug 1, 2011. 5:29 AMktech95 says:
plz help when i connect the wire to the back of the holder only one motor turns on and that too it stops after a few seconds...
May 26, 2012. 8:37 AMhsarode1 says:
check ur battery health dude
May 26, 2012. 8:36 AMhsarode1 says:
hey i made one bot and it is awesome works very good but it is kind of ugly with wires popping out as i dont have a soldering equipment. it is great instructable
Apr 30, 2012. 4:59 AMLegend121 says:
hello !
1st Question How do we fit in a mic in it to record sound

2nd Question Do we require a glue gun??

3rd Question The covers how do we get them??
PLEASE HELP! URGENT!!!!
Apr 20, 2012. 12:40 PMjblover says:
wat does it do cause it really looks dum tehhee
Nov 21, 2009. 2:21 PM123QWEe says:
do you need to soter the paper clip to the switch?
Mar 28, 2012. 3:36 PMrstevens76 says:
No, but you probably need to learn how to spell solder. =) J/k, as long as they touch, the electricity will get through. But when the bot bangs around, it may jostle the connection loose. Solder would prevent that.
Mar 19, 2012. 6:21 AMkaykay28 says:
i cant find the 1,5v motors were do u getit ???


Mar 11, 2012. 1:05 PMndogata says:
Excellente!! Vous etes ingenieux, Monsieur Demers!
Je suis un professeur d'ecole elementaire en Vancouver, et j'enseigne un "workshop de l'electronique" pour les enfants.
Je vais essayer votre design! Merci beaucoup!!
Jun 10, 2011. 7:02 AMlukeD says:
hi,
I made this robot and I bought all the stuff for it, included a 1.5 volts motor, but that is not strong enough ( by mine robot) Is it possible to make it work with more power? without spending more money?

here some pics:

Feb 23, 2012. 8:15 AMUgifer says:
Having made these with little 6-year-olds, I think the issue is the wheels - they are amazingly fast running pretty much just on the motor shafts (we used 2mm to 4mm shaft adaptors for "tyres"). I can imagine that the motor just doesn't have the torque to turn those big 10mm+ wheels.

Try just popping off the wheels and see how it goes.
Feb 23, 2012. 8:12 AMUgifer says:
Just thought I would say "thank you" for a great instructable.

Last week I ran a project for a half-dozen six year old girls based on this little bug-bot. They bent and glued and soldered (with careful supervision) and by the end of the day all six had little bugs skittering around our kitchen floor. We used shallow expanded-polystyrene bowl (6 oz I think they were) as the shells 'cos they were easy to cut and can be painted with ordinary room emulsion paint.

The girls had a great time and the parents were amazed at what they had created so many thanks for this idea.

Ugi
Feb 11, 2012. 1:04 AMandrew6 says:
Hi robomainac,
I have a problem. My old R/C car has one motor from your first beetlebot and one from beetlebot v2.
Do they have the same power, resistence and intensity?
Will be good to put them together?
Thanks in advance.
Feb 22, 2012. 10:41 AMRobot Lover says:
It's probably not a good idea to mix motors if you don't know if they are the same speed etc. What will happen is that the robot will just spin in circles because one of the motors will be faster than the other. I would suggest going to radioshack (not the best) and buy 2 of the same motors. If you can't spend any money, get a multi-meter and check the resistance and RPM of the motor. If they both match up, you are good to continue with your project.
Feb 5, 2012. 11:54 AMmso797 says:
instead of connecting the motor to the third pin on the switch with paperclips could use a photo resistor so that the robot is light sensing
Feb 5, 2012. 11:53 AMmso797 says:
instead of connecting the motor with paper clips could you use a photo resistor so that the robot is light seeking
Feb 3, 2012. 10:39 AMvadipp says:
Hey, robomaniac, this project is awesome! Thank you very much for sharing this i'ble!
Jan 27, 2012. 2:42 PMnatedog2008 says:
cool
Dec 12, 2011. 12:28 PMpowercow244 says:
i put both of the batterys in and the motors don't spin at all. however, when I press the spdts the cooresponding motor spins. HELP PLEASE!!!!
Nov 5, 2011. 9:24 AMSteeleWorks says:
ive got the same switch as niconoro and im wondering if for the switches you used did you solder the connection that always has electricity flowing through it
May 26, 2011. 6:29 AMslugy says:
plz tell me where 2 get the terminal connectors!!
i cant find them anywhere!!
Nov 2, 2011. 11:20 AMSteeleWorks says:
you can get around 20 of them off Ebay for 99p
Jul 28, 2010. 1:07 PMT_T_ says:
I just made mine the 9v batteries are there because 2 AAs couldn't do it
Aug 26, 2011. 1:05 AMamt000 says:
good idea
Sep 5, 2010. 3:09 AMwareneutron says:
awesome picture nice haa...
Aug 23, 2011. 10:50 PMrbkil90 says:
hi this project is awesome but can u tech me how to make it to another form but still the same concept and principles.
Aug 17, 2011. 8:43 AMbdoggy45 says:
would a on off switch with 6 pins work cus thats all i see at radio shack
Aug 15, 2011. 8:15 PMCaseBoy says:
ok so I followed kipkays tut and I wired it all up and I put the batteries and nothing happens. The Motors only move move when I push the switch. What to I do please respond
Aug 1, 2011. 5:32 AMktech95 says:
also.. when both the sptd switchs are pressed both motors turn off....
Apr 23, 2011. 12:36 AMhsarode says:
Hi i am making the bettle bot but i don't know where i can get the SPDT switches please tell me where can i get SPDT switches
Jul 25, 2011. 11:56 AMdeobomb says:
ebay
Jul 17, 2011. 3:03 AMhussam.tech says:
thanks
Jul 15, 2011. 4:27 PMnzdvijkov says:
GR8 robot the instrukshuns were so easy 2 follow... thnX
Jul 9, 2011. 6:39 AMamathew2 says:
can i use a smaller motor?
1-40 of 547next »

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Author:robomaniac(www.JeromeDemers.com)
I am a French Canadian that loves robots and embedded electronics. I work on all kinds of cool projects, like a high-power electric push scooter controlled with an Arduino. Please visit my website fo...
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