Robots are fun! Those crawling, walking, roving, flying, swimming little machines are a joy to play with, but would it not be even better if we made one ourselves? Lucky you! we are gonna do just that! This article is the very first installment of the robots series that I have planned, we will start with the very basics and build our skill set and tools as we move along this wonderful journey to create more complex oh-my-god-did-you-make-it-yourself?! kind of robots! So hop on, strap in, let’s begin.
RoachBot is your average robot which hates light, he runs away from it. He will do anything in his capacity to be in the darkness. So what’s he made of? I have got a list (Buy from the links if it doesn’t cost you any extra):
- Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) x 2
- BD139 NPN Transistor x 2
- 50k Potentiometer x 2
- 150 Ohm Resistor x 2
- Breadboard x 1
- 9 V Battery with Clasp / Powerbank with USB Cable x 1 :
- Jumper/DuPont Cables x a bunch
- To make the robot body you can buy an inexpensive kit like this or buy them individually using below links. If you get this kit no need for rest of the stuff below.
- DC Motor x 2
- Wheel x 2
- Castor Wheel x 1
- MDF Board x 1 (a 150mm x 150mm would do nicely)
Got em? Lets begin! The first step is to assemble the controller, refer to the diagram below to make your controller, ignore the motors and battery for now.
The brains are done, now comes the body. We will use a standard differential drive, Use a glue gun to attach motors on both sides of the MDF board as shown below. Drill two holes to let the wires from the motor through. Use a piece of wood or anything you get your hands on to attach the castor wheel at the front so that the rover stays horizontal to the surface.
Yep I used screws, but hey no need for that, just glue it.
Now lets combine everything! Make the rest of the connections by referring to the diagram above. And when you are done, you will have this!
All done! But where is the code? There is no code, it works just like that! So what are you waiting for? Build one! I will see you in the next post with more cool stuff like this!
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