Jumping Robot

[LFARINA124]

My son’s science fair project is the jumping robot from this site. We got as far as placing the rubber bands at the top of the motor, but when we did the robot became top heavy. It no longer stands by itself. We are at a standstill now. Any suggestions? Please and thank you!

[bfinio]

Hi - for the robot to stand on its own, the center of mass needs to be directly above and inside the support area made by the "feet." If the center of mass falls outside this area then the robot will tip over. You have a couple options to adjust this. One is to make the robot stand up "straighter" by gluing the wooden dowels to the feet at a steeper angle (you might need to try and heat up the glue with something like a hair dryer so you can bend the existing joints, or rip them off and start over). This should move the center of mass backward so the robot doesn't tip forward. Another option is to use longer popsicle stick pieces for the "feet." This will extend your support area forward. Hope that helps!