How to Make a Simple and Cheap Robot

Assemble your own robot using a toothbrush and pager motor.

Vibrobots or homemade robots work by using a motor with an unbalanced weight. Typically a pager motor is used to bring life to a homemade body. These robots aren't as graceful as some of their more sophisticated counterparts but they are an ideal way to explore the world of robotic technology.



Vibrobots need nothing more than a homemade body, unbalanced motor and battery life to begin moving and shaking across a flat surface. The bots are reliable and simple to build because they don't need mechanically moving limbs such as legs to move.

Things You'll Need

• Toothbrush
• Watch battery
• Pager motor
• Wire snips
• 20-gauge copper wire
• Solder
• Soldering gun

Instructions

1. Cut of the handle of a uniformly bristled toothbrush with a sharp pair of wire snips. If the bristles of the toothbrush are not uniform even them up with a pair of scissors.

2. Cut two 1/2-inch copper wire lengths from 20-gauge copper wire. Solder the copper wire to the terminal leads at the end of a pager motor.

3. Cover the top of the toothbrush with double-sided foam tape. Bend one of the copper leads so that it will lay on top of the foam tape.

4. Press the pager motor down on the foam tape with the motor facing the head of the toothbrush. The page motor should align perfectly with the tip of the toothbrush.

5. Place a watch battery between the two copper lead wires and stick it to the foam tape. Bend the second lead wire to touch the top of the battery. The bristlebot is on and ready to run. To turn off the vibrobot remove the watch battery.

Tips & Warnings

• Reposition the battery and pager motor if you encounter steering problems.

• Make several bristlebots for racing against family members.

• Do not use regular double-sided stick tape. The pager motor needs to have a gap under it to fully rotate.

References

• Evil Mad Scientist: Bristlebot: A tiny Directional Vibrobot