Robots are made to go and do what humans either can not, or do not want to do. They are used in hundreds of ways from exploring Mars, to working tirelessly on a manufacturing line, to providing companionship. Not to mention they make great movie characters! Try your hand at building a robot with one of our robotics science and engineering projects.
If you have seen any of the "Star Wars" movies, then you probably remember when Jedi knights like Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi used "The Force" to push, pull, and even throw objects — including some helpless battle droids. Have you ever wished you could do that in real life? In this robotics project, you will build and program a LEGO® robot that you can push and pull using an "invisible force" — almost like a real Jedi! We make no promise that you will be taking down the…
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Robotics_p013
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Time Required
Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites
You should know how to build a basic car with a LEGO Mindstorms kit, and also be familiar with basic programming in the Mindstorms software (NXT-G or EV3).
Material Availability
This project requires a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 or NXT kit, and a computer with the appropriate programming software. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.
Sometimes engineers get ideas to build robots from animals in nature. There are robot dogs, robot snakes, robot birds, robot cheetahs, and even tiny robotic insects! In this science project, you will build a robot insect of your own. The robot will automatically drive toward a light source, mimicking a behavior called phototaxis, seen in some insects. You will build your own robot and then make adjustments so it can reliably drive toward a light.
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Robotics_p012
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Time Required
Very Short (≤ 1 day)
Prerequisites
none
Material Availability
A kit containing all the electronics parts needed for this project can be found in a kit from our partner .
Do you ever wish you could hire someone to guard your favorite toys, or keep certain people from coming into your room? What if you could make a robot to do it for you? This project will show you how to build a simple security robot controlled by a motion-detecting sensor. When someone comes near your valuables or enters the room, the robot will spring to life and (hopefully) scare them away!
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Robotics_p024
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
You will need to know how to use a breadboard to do this project. See the Science Buddies reference [# ProjectGuide Name="Breadboard.Tutorial" Value="HtmlAnchor" #] if you have not used a breadboard before.
Material Availability
A kit is available from our partner .
Cost
High ($100 - $150)
Safety
Short circuits can get very hot and present a burn hazard. Be careful to avoid short circuits when building your robot. See the Procedure for more information.
If you ever rode in a cable car, ski lift, or gondola, you know they make moving over obstacles like lakes, valleys, rivers, or even up steep mountains seem easy. Though it would be pretty difficult to build a full-size cable car in your home, if you have a Mindstorms® kit, you can build a working-model cable car of your own. The engineering challenge is to build a LEGO® cable car that can travel across a string you have suspended somewhere in your house (between two pieces of…
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Robotics_p008
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
You should be familiar with programming for LEGO Mindstorms to do this project.
Material Availability
This project requires a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 kit (available from ) or a LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit.
Cost
Very High (over $150)
Safety
Make sure your cable car string is securely attached to a heavy object (like a table or large chair) at both ends. The Mindstorms bricks are heavy, and could fall and damage your LEGOs or other objects if the string is not securely attached.
Science Buddies has several fun robotics projects, like the
and
,
where you use arts and crafts materials to make part of a robot. Have you ever wanted to design a more-advanced, sturdier, or fancier looking robot? Then computer-aided design (CAD) and 3D printing might be for you; both are simpler than you think! The directions on this page will give you an introduction to these technologies so you can design and print your own robot. Figure 1 shows an arts-and-crafts version of an Art Bot…
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Robotics_p025
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Specialty materials are required. See project description for details.
Are you artistic? Do you enjoy creating art? Some may think that art is something only humans can make, but what about robots: can they be artistic? They can if you build them that way. In this robotics engineering project, you will build a robot that creates art. And who knows? Someday your robot art may be worth millions!
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Robotics_p005
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Time Required
Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
This robotics engineering project requires you to purchase VEX® robotics materials. See the Materials and Equipment list for details. With a little problem-solving, you may be able to substitute another robotics platform.
Cost
Very High (over $150)
Safety
Use caution with tools when assembling the robot. Minor injury is possible.
In our , we provided a template with four materials: two active materials that expand and contract in the physics sandbox mode, and two passive materials — one hard and one soft. The project mentioned material properties, but it did not go into much detail — you just used the default settings from the template. Changing the material properties can drastically change how your robots behave. Engineers must take material properties into account when designing robots and other machines.…
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Robotics_p018
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
Familiarity with VoxCAD software is required for this project. We recommend completing the Science Buddies [# ProjectIdea Name="Robotics_p016" Value="HtmlAnchor" HtmlText="introductory VoxCAD project" #] first.
Material Availability
This project requires the free VoxCAD software, and a computer running Microsoft® Windows®.
What do an octopus, an elephant's trunk, and an earthworm have in common? They are all squishy, bendable and flexible because they do not have any bones inside. You might not typically think of robots as "squishy," but scientists are increasingly trying to create soft robots that look and move like animals. In this project you will use a "soft robot simulator" to design and race your own squishy robots. Can you come up with the fastest design?
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In our , we provided you with a template file that included default material properties and physics simulation settings. These settings include friction, gravity, and temperature — all of which can drastically change how fast your robots move. However, we did not explain what exactly all these physics simulation settings meant, or how to change them. You can access the physics settings through the Physics Settings tab after entering the Physics Sandbox mode, as shown in Figure 1:
…
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Robotics_p019
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Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
Familiarity with VoxCAD software. We recommend completing our [# ProjectIdea Name="Robotics_p016" Value="HtmlAnchor" HtmlText="introductory VoxCAD project" #] first.
Material Availability
This project requires the free VoxCAD software and a computer running Microsoft® Windows®.
Have you ever tried to ride your bike up a flight of stairs? Vehicles with wheels are great at traveling on paved roads or flat ground, but when it comes to stairs or uneven ground in the woods, wheels are not always such a great option. Inspired by real-life all-terrain robots, in this engineering project you will design and build a LEGO® robot that can travel over bumpy ground, through your yard, or even up a stack of textbooks — and almost anything else you can think of!
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Robotics_p009
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Time Required
Average (6-10 days)
Prerequisites
Experience building with LEGO® and programming for LEGO® Mindstorms® is required for this project.
Material Availability
This project requires a LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT kit and compatible programming software. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.
