Reflection on DIY Robotics: Junk bots

Junk bots are really a type of sculpture, with an optional electrical function. They are often constructed out of left over parts. We took most of today to create our own junk bots. Most have basic electrical feature, like an LED, a motor, or, for some, nothing at all. I made one based on an insect. It had a mouse circuit board for a chassis, added a speaker for a eye, forced a motor in to the batter compartment, and covered it with cellphone keypads for style. As the motor took over the compartment, I put the battery on the out side. I found that a AA could not move the bot, so I upped the ante, with a 9 volt battery. It looked rather ungainly, so I coated it with a cellphone keypad, left over from yesterday’s cellphone hackings. It does okay at its sole function: moving at the press of a button. The button is hard to press, one must press it and then jerk their hand back to let it go the three inches the half second press gave it. Its messy, and the key pads don’t really want to stay on, but I am proud of it, and that’s the best someone can do.