Paper Robotics 1

Time to explore some paper robotics!

First up, my own paper and tape take on the HexBug nano bot. A cell battery, some copper tape, and a small vibrating motor are all it takes to make this little bug skitter around the table:

But if I’m going to go forward with my sort of clipboard idea, then I don’t want to have a battery on the robot. I need to create a robot that works like a slot car, driving power from the track it runs on.

So I put together a very simple and rudimentary test and was very pleased with how it turned out. Sure enough, the rails do what they’re supposed to do and keep the robot skittering along. There’s lots of improvements to be made now in the design of the trough and robot, but I’m glad to have a proof of concept that works.

And that’s pretty much it for right now.

My head is swirling with ideas of flatpack components and analogue electronic ideas and all that fun stuff. I should be learning how to design PCBs later this week which will hopefully unlock a whole new world of tinkering. I’ll share more about that soon!