Robotics Science Projects (Page 3)

Stair Master: Build an All-Terrain Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

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! Read more

Use the Force! Push & Pull Robots With an Invisible Force

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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… Read more

Build a Radio-Controlled (RC) Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Radio-controlled (RC) robots can explore places that are difficult or dangerous for humans to get to, like collapsed buildings after a natural disaster. They can use cameras and a variety of other sensors to gather information about their environment, like the presence of toxic gases or other hazardous materials. The robots can even use grippers and robotic arms to collect and safely dispose of some materials. You can build your own RC robot using the Science Buddies Bluebot kit, Electronics… Read more

Build an Autonomous Arduino Robot with Bump Sensors

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Mechanical switches are common in many machines and robots. They can be used to detect when a button is pushed, when a door is open, or a low-speed collision when two objects bump into each other. Switches can act as "bump sensors" on a simple robot to help it detect when it hits an obstacle. The robot can use this information to navigate around obstacles and avoid getting stuck. Can you build and program a robot that can drive around your house while using bump sensors to avoid obstacles? Read more

Keep Your Arduino Robot From Falling Off a Cliff

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Humans cannot see infrared light, but robots can! At least, they can when they use special infrared light sensors. These sensors can help robots detect nearby objects to avoid collisions and even help them avoid driving off edges. In this project you will build your own Arduino robot that uses infrared sensors to avoid driving off the edge of a table. Read more

Build an Arduino Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Science Buddies Bluebot Kit contains parts to build four different robots: A motion-activated robot that uses a passive infrared (PIR) sensor A light-tracking robot that uses photoresistors A line-following robot that uses infrared emitter-detectors An obstacle-avoiding robot that uses bump sensors However, in each project, the sensors are hard-wired to control the robot's motors. This allows the robot to steer left and right based on input from two sensors, but it does not allow the… Read more

How Does Robot Behavior Affect Human-Robot Interaction?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Industrial robots, medical robots, service robots, household robots, companion robots—humans and robots are around each other in an ever-increasing number of situations. How robots look and act can have a big impact on how humans react to and feel about them. In this science project, you will program a robot with different behaviors to see how people react. Can you make people feel comfortable alongside the robot? Read more

Build a Color-Detecting Rover

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers use scientific instruments, nicknamed ChemCam (Figure 1) and SuperCam respectively, to help them analyze the composition of rocks and soil on Mars. You can learn more about these cameras from the resources in the Bibliography, and more about why scientists want to analyze rocks on Mars from the video on this page. Figure 1. The two main parts of the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity rover. For a science… Read more

X Marks the Spot: Build a Robot to Protect Your Treasures

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You have secret treasure that you need to keep safe from thieves. How do you keep guard 24 hours a day without skipping school and the rest of your important activities? You build a guard robot and have it do the hard work! You can build a guard robot using a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® set and the instructions in this project to guide your efforts. And do not worry: your secret is safe with your robot. Read more

Take a Hike: Train Your Robot Dog to Walk with a Virtual Leash

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever walked a dog on a leash? Depending on how well-behaved the dog is, it can be very easy or very difficult. It would be great if you could tell your dog exactly how to behave, right? With that in mind, in this project you will build a robotic dog using a LEGO® Mindstorms® kit that you can teach to "walk" using the beam from a flashlight as a virtual leash. But your robot dog will not know how to walk on a leash on its own — you will have to "train" it, just as you… Read more

Robotics Science Projects (33 results)

Explore Our Science Videos