Crumbly Junk robot

Guest Blogger Nathaniel Roberts, Nuffield Research Placement Student working at the University of Northampton. Nuffield Research Placement scheme provides students in their first year of a post16 course to work with STEM professionals http://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/nuffield-research-placements.

Toilet Roll Junkbot

Nathaniel Roberts

Cut a slit in a toilet roll.

Cut another toilet roll in half, then arrange the pieces in a T.

Feed the bottom of the T into the slit, and tape together.

Cut two lines into the edge, and do the same on the opposite side of the circle. Copy this for the other side of the tube.

These geared motors from the Camjam EduKit 3 should fit into those gaps.

Stick a battery pack to the back, and use crocodile clips to wire it all up to a crumble. The battery pack can connect to the + and - on either side at the top of the crumble, and the motors connect to the + and - of their respective sides of the crumble.

Using a Micro USB to USB cable, the crumble can be plugged into a computer and can run code from the crumble software ( http://redfernelectronics.co.uk/crumble-software/ ).

This example code would make the junkbot move forward for a second, turn either left or right, then move forward for another second before stopping.

The back of the bot was extremely heavy (with all the batteries). The front wasn’t heavy enough to grip most surfaces very well so the wheels would often spin without the bot moving. Also, the toilet rolls were only just strong enough for the job. After a few uses, especially around the motors, they started bending. Eventually, the motors ended up 'wonky' despite attempts at fixing it.

All opinions in this blog are the Author's and should not in any way be seen as reflecting the views of any organisation the Author has any association with. Twitter @scottturneruon

If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk