Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hey al, i want to make a robot that follows a line, i know this is easy but the prblem lies in the fact that i want to put a laser on the base of the robot so powerful that it etches in the wood. The problem lies in the fact that i want to make the laser move wirelessly with a pda or iphone so i can etch a path for the robot to follow........can anyone plz help me with this it will be greatly apreciated. Thx

My first thought is that you should not be using such a powerful laser without taking a laser safety course, at the minimum. My second thought is to check with rules of your particular Science Fair to determine whether you project falls within their safety guidelines.

Hi burp61,

I agree that you have some significant potential safety issues with such a powerful laser. However, you could demonstrate the same concept by replacing the laser with something like a dry-erase marker and putting the robot on top of a (horizontal) dry-erase board. Then you'd be able to reuse your surface -- definitely helpful since this kind of thing inevitably requires lot of debugging.

As for controlling the robot, I put wireless robot control into a search engine and found lots of descriptions of projects that people have done. You might be able to find one based on an inexpensive toy that you could modify.

Best wishes,
Amanda

So is it not advisible to use the laser because I may have the robot and the laser in a large box of their own

Our immediate concern is for your safety while conducting the experiment, not just for people who are looking at your science fair display. A laser that can engrave wood is capable of burning your skin. Also, one of the biggest safety concerns with lasers is eye exposure, which can result in blindness. Safety training would teach you about what kind of glasses to wear to protect your eyes from different kinds of lasers, how to make sure that the beam won't reflect from surfaces and end up in places that you didn't expect it to go, etc.

So are there any alternatives that will not sacrifice the perfomence/excitement factor.........plz offer suggestions

I agree with the previous posts, you do not want to deal with a laser strong enough to etch wood for a science project. How about, in addition to the dry erase marker, you attach a simple $5 laser pointer to demonstrate the intended purpose of your robot. Those are weak enough to be handled without laser safety training (although you still don't want them shining into anybody's eye!). I'm suggesting to keep the dry erase marker so you can easily prove the robot indeed followed a straight line once it is done moving.

Cheers, Ivo

Hey guys thx for all the suggestions but is there any alternative to a strong laser that is still interesting, like the people see it nd go wow, Im srry but I don't think demonstrating with a dry eraser marker sounds very interesting...... Just my two cents. Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Hi!
If your school/science fair allows it, the previously mentioned laser pointer can be pretty cool. If you want something cool-looking, maybe you could try a strong flashlight wrapped in colored cellophane to make cool colors. Be creative, hope this helps!