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Robot Gear
Do you want to learn about robots? Then you need to know at least a bit about robot gear. Technically speaking a robot is any machine capable of moving via remote control or through sensors and its own power source. Extremely sophisticated robots will have an assortment of gear ranging from gears, servo grips, legs, chasis, and even computer software interfaces. Simple robots only require some wheels, a motor, and a small power source. In small robots AA batteries and frame will suffice.
What kind of gear is available?
There are plenty of websites dedicated to the sale of robot gear, and one could spend endless hours reading up on all the hard and software that make different robots work. The easiest and most enjoyable way to learn the basics of robot gear is to try and make a robot yourself. This is much easier than it sounds, and at its simplest requires you to know nothing about gears, gear trains, torque, resistance ratios or any engineering skills, in fact, beyond what an eight-year-old child can muster.
Hobby sites and retailers offer a number of robot kits ranging in price from $11 to several hundred dollars. One popular model designed by students of Middlesex University in Britain uses CDs for rear wheels, and is an excellent example of how everyday materials like CDs or CDRs can be converted into robot gear. Resourcefulness and adaptability are hallmark traits of robot design and construction. With a few robot kits under one's belt, it may be possible to make a robot from scratch.
That said, almost anything can become a piece of robot gear just as long as the means and will exist. In one instance there might be a robot boy whose function is to pull small arrows from a quiver and shoot them across the room; in another instance the robot might be a buzz-saw wielding, remote-controlled battle machine. Whether motor, sensor, or remote control, robot gear runs the gamut from cheap and functional to top-of-the line reliability and expense. Depending on the purpose of the robot the quality of gear may be more or less. A robot boy who shoots arrows, for example, does not require much torque nor does it need a heavy motor. Robot boy kits, consequently, utilize a set of plastic gears. A buzz-saw battle robot, however, will need as much speed as possible and exceptionally reliable and durable components. In such cases durable materials are custom fit to serve the gladiatorial needs
Why buy them?
There is any number of reasons one might want to buy and/or build a robot of any complexity. For youngsters with a marked interest in mechanics and engineering building a robot can become the ideal science project. Some schools even have 'Micromouse' competitions where students learn how to build a robot that can navigate a maze just like the proverbial lab rat.
Some creative individuals may find a use for simple robots around the home, but in general most simple robots, once activated, provide more entertainment than function. However, the very process of building a robot one can give one a unique and compelling insight into how these creatures are brought into existence.
Of course, one need not build a robot to enjoy a robot, and a number of popular pre-made robots are available including programmable creatures like the relatively simple 'Scribbler' which can draw if given a pen, and the advanced (and recently discontinued) AIBO robot dog which learns and adapts to its environment in sometimes complex, sometimes unpredictable, and always interesting ways. Programmable robots can be taught interesting tricks and in some cases are endowed with artistic expression. Robots like the AIBO can take pictures and share them over the internet via a built in Wi-Fi connection.
What do they do?
Extremely basic robots will use very little gear, sometimes only enough to travel in a straight line. This kind of robot is often called a 'dragster'. While a dragster is a limited and unsophisticated robot, to build such a thing is to gain foundational experience with robot gear and factors like resistance, speed, and circuitry.
One step up the evolutionary ladder is the 'tracker' robot. Sometimes called a 'Micromouse' (although many 'micromice' now operate on remote control) these robots utilize a sensor to detect a line and follow it. In some models the line must be soldered onto a black surface. More versatile models, such as the Line Tracking Snail Robot, can follow any black line such as might be made with a magic marker so long as it is on a white background.
In addition to these fun and basic robots there are robots that look and walk like insects, basic robotic arms with PC interface and servo grips (a good way to grasp the basics of many industrial robots), and a series of robots designed to behave like living creatures. B.E.A.M. Robotics has a number of models that use their solar cells to seek out 'food', and can be modified with animal behaviors like 'predator/prey instincts' which, when fitted onto two robots will place one in the role of predator and the other in the role of prey. The robots use infrared to detect each other and hunt or hide as need be.
The fantastic thing about such add-ons is that they can often be attached to other types of robots like the Micromouse or a robot of custom design. Whether it is CD wheels or hunter/hunted circuitry boards, the function and flexibility of robots are limited only by time and imagination.
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