Introduction: BugBot

My son wanted to make a something for his school's science exibition. Since he is just 8, I wanted to a project that is age appropriate and where he could follow my instructions to assemble one

Out of many ideas, we decided to make a bugbot. Basic idea was it has a motor with unbalanced load, causing it to vibrate, The motor is resting on a wooden piece with 6 legs, giving it a bug / insect look

This is project can be assembled my kids under adult supervision

Video here

Step 1: What Do We Need ?

Material

  • Small piece of wood
  • DC 3V motor
  • AA Battery holder
  • Small switch
  • Small wires
  • Double side tape
  • GI wire or any hard metallic wire

Tools

  • Soldering Iron
  • Dremel/ small drill

Step 2: Base and Legs

  • Cut 3 pieces of 14cm long GI Wires
  • Drill 6 holes on wooden piece (4CM x 9cm)
  • Pass the wires as shown and bend them, so that appear like a insect legs
  • Paint the body and legs with black or color of your choice

Step 3: Electronics

  • Motor : Connect one wire to AA battery holder and another to switch
  • Switch : COnnect one wire to Motor and one to AA BAttery

Follow circuit diagram as shown

Step 4: Play Time

FIx the motor, switch and battery holder using double side tape

Switch on to begin playing

Tips

  • Based on the legs, the bot will move in circular or side or front or back
  • Adjust the legs that all touch the ground
  • The rear legs should be taller to make the bot move forward

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