StickBot – Building the Right Eye

Well, I discovered that Popsicle is a brand name, so I’m officially renaming this little guy “StickBot” so the Popsicle police don’t come after me. To be clear, this little bot has nothing to do with Popsicle brand ice pops, and never did. My appologies Popsicle; I hope you still let me eat your ice pops because life just would not be the same without them.

Now that I’ve come clean, here’s a video that show how to assemble StickBot’s right eye. It’s an analog 555 timer-based 1Hz oscillator that controls the right/left PWM servo signals generated by the left eye.

This is the latest version, powered directly by four 1.5V LR61 batteries (similar to AAAA batteries, and often found inside 9V batteries). As a result, it does away with the voltage regulator.

Details for the previous version can be found here: StickBot V2.0 - Untethered!. The original tethered version can be found here: StickBot: A Simple 6-Legged Walker. I’ll try to get updated schematics and more assembly videos up soon.

I’ve had a few people ask me if I have a kit for this little critter. I’m working on one geared toward kids — it’s a fun project to do with kids, and it seems like they really learn a lot from it.

The parts for this eye include:

  • 555 Timer IC
  • 1k ohm resistor
  • 330k ohm resistor
  • 2.2uF capacitor
  • About 9 inches of Cat 5 network cable, phone cord, or other similar wire
  • Some electrical tape, solder, and soldering iron

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