Junkbots

Super Simple Robots for Weekend Projects | NooTriX : "Robotics is of great fun. But, making robots can take very long time… Or may be not. Checkout the selection of videos below we have gathered for you. Those DIY robots belong to the so called BEAM Robotics. Robots made along this philosophy are based on simple analog circuits with inexpensive and more often scavenged parts." For more details go to:  http://nootrix.com/2014/02/weekend-projects / 'via Blog this'

Recently a post on a scoop.it site Primary Robots & Coding curated by Steve Thomas (His twitter feed is a great resource  @ stephendathomas )  caught my attention - Art "Robot" ( http://www.instructables.com/id/Art-Robot/ ). Essentially a similar idea, but it many ways a more sophisticated idea, than my drawing bots . The Art "Robot" takes an idea similar to the  drawing bots  of using junk to make drawing 'robot'; then kicks it up a gear. The use of the ice-lolly stick push it further into the area of reusing materials (instead of my broken propellors - I wish I had thought of the lolly sticks). The cork for adding weight to a light motor is clever. Have a look at  http://www.instructables.com/id/Art-Robot/   for more details of how they built theirs. Art Robots are not just being made from 'junk' another curated post from  Primary Robots & Coding  has Lego and Scratch being used to make drawing robots . I plan to i...

Videos and comments from the Robot Day at Hartwell Primary School can now be found at the following link   Robot Day! | Class4 2013 Quote from the page "The whole class had a fantistic time and really enjoyed the challenge."      For more information about the activities go to  http://computingnorthampton.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/robots-in-hartwell.html

Not exactly a Junkbot but definitely related is the  Robot Obstacle Course game developed by Oregon Museum of Science and Industry . The game takes the player through exercises in Boolean Logic to allow the robot to collect keys and jump over traps to open the door. This a good and fun introduction to logic. To play the game go to: http://www.omsi.edu/tech/RobotActivity/index.htm If you would like to know more about the Junkbots project contact scott.turner@northampton.ac.uk

On 19th December 2013 the  junkbot project visited - Class 4 of Hartwell Primary School, Northamptonshire, UK. The session was split into two. The first part was building a drawing junkbot  from cans, small electric motors, broken propellers, wires, pencils, pens, and drinks cans. An example from a previous group is shown to the left. M ore details on the activities/session plans can be found at: on the junkbots project go to:  http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/   on the work developed and a case study can be found at:  http://www.hestem-sw.org.uk/project?id=16&pp=540  or    http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Junkbot_june_northampton.pdf  in-school session plan can be found at:  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_KS3_4_longer.docx STEM club session plan can be found at:  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_primary_short8.docx Robonova in ...

The School of Science and Technology at the University of Northampton have been working with local schools to create robots made from junk. This is an initiative by the University to introduce environmental sustainability, engineering and computing to students and has been funded by Northampton Enterprise Limited and east midlands development agency (emda).  For more details: on the junkbots project go to:  http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/   on the work developed and a case study can be found at:  http://www.hestem-sw.org.uk/project?id=16&pp=540  or    http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Junkbot_june_northampton.pdf  in-school session plan can be found at:  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_KS3_4_longer.docx STEM club session plan can be found at:  http://projects.hestem-sw.org.uk/upload/Planning_Process_junkbots_primary_short8.docx This and other posters at Engage 2013 can be fou...

Junkbots – it is not one thing! : Turner S (2013)  Junkbots – it is not one thing!   Engage 2013 27-28th September 2013 The School of Science and Technology at the University of Northampton have been working with local schools to create robots made from junk. This is an initiative by the University to introduce environmental sustainability, engineering and computing to students and has been funded by Northampton Enterprise Limited and east midlands development agency (emda).  For more details on the junkbots project go to:  http://junkbots.blogspot.co.uk/   This and other posters at Engage 2013 can be found at:  https://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/engage2013/poster-party 'via Blog this'