Practical project work

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Robots – slaves at home and at work

Practical Project Work on Robotics

Instructions to help you build your own basic robotic unit

Here are instructions to make a basic unit using:

  • 2 pencils
  • 2 rules
  • 2 cotton reels
  • rubber bands
  • 1 electric motor
  • 1 battery holder

See Preliminary Notes for Teachers for details of motors and batteries, and websites where these, and the cotton reels may be obtained.

The aim is to provide a simple unit that is quick to make, easy to make changes and uses materials that are cheap and readily available. The photos show you what to do.

Stage 1

photo of pencil attached to rule with rubber band

If you are using long rubber bands, double them up; if you are using small rubber bands, use several.

Stage 2

photo of completion of attachment of pencil to rule with rubber band: pencil is across rule, perpendicular to it

The rubber bands need to provide a firm fixing, so they need to be tight.

Stage 3

Use the rubber band fixing technique to construct a basic unit that looks like the one below.

photo of two rules, parallel, and about 3 inches apart; two pencils inserted through cotton reels attached firmly with elastic bands on the same side of the rules, cotton reels central between the rules

Stage 4

Attach the electric motor and battery holder with blu-tak or plasticene. The rubber drive band to the cotton reel needs to be only slightly tight.

battery attached to one rule, electric motor attached to the other, elastic band connecting one cotton reel to the motor

Stage 5

When the electric motor is connected to the battery, the cotton reel should rotate. The basic unit can be made to imitate a robot buggy. It can also imitate the winding drum for a robotic lift, the drum of a washing machine, and lots of other robotic devices.

Stage 6

Once you've got your robotic buggy going, see what you can find out about it. How far can it go? How fast can it go? If you make a few of them, you could race them!