STEM Project: Quadruped Robot

This time I share you an easy to build STEM project regarding robotics in the classroom.

It’s been observed that kids learning robotics has many benefits in the whole development of a child:

• Encourage interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects
• Learn to be a Problem Solver
• Creative Thinking
• Develops the Skills of Tomorrow

Robotics is breaking new ground in learning methodologies around the world. It is a need of the hour to prepare our children for the changes of tomorrow in all aspects of life whether it is personal, educational or professional.

This robot has been built using wooden rods and cardboard mainly and once you have cut all the pieces you only spend half an hour to mount it.

I hope you like it.

To build the robot we will need:

• Wooden rods
• One metal rod (2 mm section)
• One gear motor dual shaft (https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Geared-Magnetic-Gearbox-Arduino/dp/B08RCLZ4CC/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=motor+arduino&qid=1636713402&sr=8-12)
• Cardboard
• Insulating tape
• Battery holder
• Two AA batteries
• One switch

Cut six pieces of wooden rods as you can see in the photo (10 centimeters long):

• Three orange rods. Open two holes one at the middle and the other one at the bottom of the rod (2 millimeters section)
• Three yellow rods. Open one hole at the top and several ones at the bottom (2 millimeters section). These holes at the bottom will be used to adjust the way of walking.

To build the wheels follow the steps below:

• Paint several circles 6 centimeters radius in the cardboard and cut all of them
• Glue all the circles
• Cut two metal rods 5 centimeters long
• Use the insulating tape as you can see in the image
• Glue the metal rod with the insulating tape in the cardboard wheels as you can see in the last image

Using a rule trace in a cardboard the meassures you see in the first image

After mount the body of the robot, install two wooden rods (120 millimeters) as you can see in the second image

Follow the steps below:

• The first step is to glue the battery holder and the gear motor in the middle of the body
• Insert the wheels in the shafts of the gear motor
• Install a switch as you can see in the last images

Using the wooden rods cut little pieces to adjust the yellow and the orange wooden rods.

Finally use a little piece of wooden rod to adjust the yellow pieces to the wheel.

Once you have built your prototype, you can build a 3D printed version and add it an automatic control.

This time I have used an old game of my son to build a bluetooth controlled quadruped robot

I have used:

• Two DC motors
• One ARDUINO Nano board
• One HC05 bluetooth board
• One L293D chip to controll the robot movements: forward, backwards, left, right and stop
• One mobile phone with "Serial Bluetooth Terminal" app installed

After you test and controll the robot with the above app, you can program a new app using MIT App Inventor.