Robotics Science Projects (Page 3)

How Fast is Automatic Braking?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How fast can a human driver react and hit the brakes when there is an obstacle in the road? Can autonomous cars react more quickly and make the road safer for everyone? In this project you will build your own Arduino robot and test human braking versus automatic braking as the robot drives toward an obstacle at full speed. Read more

Build an Arduino Walking Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Plenty of animals, like dogs and horses, can walk and run on four legs, but what about robots? Sometimes legs are better than wheels—try out this project to design and build your own quadruped walking robot! Read more

How to Control a DIY Mini Drone with an Arduino™

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Most drones fly with a mix of human input and autonomous control based on feedback from electronic sensors. This allows the drone to fly up and down when the human operator presses a joystick on a controller, but automatically hover at a fixed distance above the ground when the operator lets go of the joystick. In this project, you will explore drone programming with an Arduino. What types of inputs and sensors can you make your drone respond to? What behaviors and responses can you program… Read more

Flippy, the Dancing Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever seen a robot dance? In this project you will build your own simple flipping, tumbling robot that can dance around on the floor or a tabletop! If you have never made a robot before and would like to get started with a fun, easy project, this is a great place to begin. You will follow directions to make a basic robot, and then make your own additions to make it even better! Read more

Build a Light-Tracking Bristlebot

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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. Read more

Build a Speedy Light-Tracking Robot (BlueBot Project #2)

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever seen a cat chase a laser pointer or a flashlight beam? What if you could make a robot do that? In this project, you will build a robot that can automatically drive toward a bright light source. The robot uses a simple electronic circuit to track light, so there is no computer programming required! You can also do three other robotics projects using the same kit of parts, so this is a great way to get started with robotics before moving on to more advanced projects. Read more

Build a Solar-Powered Bristlebot

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

You have probably heard about using renewable energy sources like wind and solar power to provide electricity to homes and buildings, as well as hybrid or fully electric cars that use less (or zero) gasoline. But what about solar-powered robots? As robots become more common, it is increasingly important to use "green" energy sources to power them. In this project, you will build and test a popular robot called a bristlebot — a tiny robot made using toothbrushes—that can operate on… Read more

A Robot Waiter That Can Carry Drinks

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever seen a waiter balance an entire tray of drinks without spilling any? How do they do it? Do you think you could build a robot waiter that can do the same thing? In this project, you will learn how to build a self-balancing robotic tray. You can incorporate the auto-leveling tray into one of our many other robotics projects, like the Bluebot or robotic arm. Read more

Control Motors with Your Muscles!

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Have you ever wished you could control your own suit of power armor like Iron Man? What about building a set of Wolverine-like retractable claws? You can get started by using electromyography (EMG) sensors, which can measure the tiny electrical signals generated by our muscles when they contract (Figure 1). You can interface these sensors with a microcontroller like an Arduino and use the output to control LEDs or motors. Getting these sensors to work can be tricky. The electrical signals… Read more

Build a Sound-Tracking Search and Rescue Robot

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

HELP! Locating survivors trapped under rubble is a difficult and dangerous task. After a natural disaster, like an earthquake, rescuers must act quickly to save as many lives as possible. They can use robots with different types of sensors to help find survivors. In this project you will build a sound-tracking robot that can use two microphones to drive toward a sound source. Designing the robot's algorithm will be up to you. Read more

Robotics Science Projects (68 results)

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