Hello and welcome to the step-by-step instructions for making and assembling your RoboTug kit.

Using this kit you'll be able to able to build a robot strength-o-meter that is connected to the Internet of Things. You'll be able to test the pulling power of a robot then compete with our champion robots and robots built by other teams across the UK.

Let's get going!

Step 1: Laser Cut Your Casing

Unless you've already got a case from us, you'll need to laser cut your base. You can download the files by clicking here. You'll need to use 3mm acrylic.

We added in dovetail joints to three pieces so the base would be easier to package and transport, but you can remove them from the drawing if you want. Be careful not to remove anything else!

Step 2: Unpacking Your Kit

In your RoboTug kit you'll find the following:

Laser cut acrylic acrylic casing
Intel Galileo with SD card and WiFi card
Power source
Linear potentiometer
Screws and mounts
Springs

Step 3: Gluing and Assembling the Base

As we said in step one, we added in dovetail joints so the base would be easier to package and transport, so if you've kept them in you'll need to glue the pieces together. See pictures one and two for a before and after shot.

Next, screw the linear potentiometer into the underside of the bridging part of the case, then assemble the case as shown in picture two. You may need some glue and another pair of hands to help you with this step! Make sure you have all the parts facing the right way before you glue it all together. We've annotated picture two with what goes where: A into A, B into B and so on.

Step 4: Add in the Slider, Springs and Brace

First, slot the end piece of the RoboTug casing into place. Hook the slider onto the linear potentiometer and through the end piece, as per the notes on picture one. Glue the end piece in place but not the slider.

Next, put the hook through the middle piece of the RoboTug casing, then secure it in place. Connect the springs to the hook and the slider. You can see the before and after shots of this in pictures two and three.

Finally, put the two remaining pieces of the RoboTug in place as shown in picture three. The brace should come down the edge of a table or other steady surface to brace the casing against the mighty pulling power of your robot.

Step 5: Connect the Galileo

Screw the mounting spacers into the underneath of the RoboTug casing, then screw the Galileo in on the top, as seen in picture two.

Next, connect the linear potentiometer to the Galileo. Plug the appropriate wires into the 5v, ground and A0 analogue input as per picture two.

Finally, connect the power source and turn it on: you're ready to start using your RoboTug strength-o-meter. Have a look at this Instructables on how to use our Internet of (School) Things to explore your data or create an experiment.