Introduction: DIY Robotic Toys
Hello again guys.
In this project I will show you how to convert a simple 10$ wooden or plastic robot in a robotic toy with two arms (with one degree of freedom), a waist (with one degree of freedom) and a nice 8 led ring placed over a programmable robot car directed by a joystick.
It is a nice and affordable project to introduce robotic basics to our kids.
I hope you like it.
Supplies
- Wooden or plastic robot
- Programmable robot car: CuteBot Pro
- Joystick: Josystickbit
- Led ring: 8 RGB Led Ring
- 2 Micro:Bits
- 3 servo motors
- Hot silicone gun
Step 1: Mount the Robot Waist
- Glue the robot legs to the servo waist.
- Glue one of the servo adapter to the robot chest.
Step 2: Glue the Wooden Robot on the Robot Car
Step 3: Prepare the Arms
- Glue the plastic adapter of the servo to the arms
Step 4: Mount the Arms
- Glue the servos of both arms in the chest as you can see in the image
- Place the arms
Step 5: Glue the 8 Led Ring to the Robot Chest
- The led ring will change randomly the colour every 500 ms
Step 6: Connect the Servos and the Led Ring to the Robot Car
- Connect the waist servo to the S1 input in the CuteBot Pro
- Connect the left arm servo to the S2 input in the CuteBot Pro
- Connect the right arm servo to the S3 input in the CuteBot Pro
- Connect the led ring to the P14 input in the CuteBot Pro
Step 7: Programm the Robot Car
To programm the robot car I have used a Micro:Bit and Microsoft MakeCode with the right extension: "Cutebot Pro".
The code of the Micro:bit basically is listening the signals of the joystick to move the robot car and the robot servos.
You can download the code from here
Step 8: Programm the Joystick
To program the joystick I have used a Micro:Bit and, again, Microsoft MakeCode with the right extension: "Joystickbit".
The code sends to the Micro:Bit of the robot car the signals to control it:
- "E", "D" to control the left arm movement
- "J", "K" to control the right arm movement ("A", "B" buttons in the Micro:Bit)
- "C", "F" to control the waist movement
- "X", "Y" to control the car movement
You can download the code from here