The Robot Book: Build & Control 20 Electric Gizmos, Moving Machines, and Hacked Toys

Make cool machines from objects you have around the house! First, we made a Nail Bot from an old vibrating toothbrush and a nailbrush. It was cool to watch it zoom around the counter, but it didn’t scrub very well, so we decided to make the Brush Bot next. The Brush Bot used scrub brush as the effector and a 9V battery as the power supply. This one did a better job cleaning the counter! Next, we made a U2-D2. This was my favorite project because I got to make it look like R2D2. I’m excited to try more projects!

I’m taking a Robotics class now, and my teacher said that the projects in this book are not technically robots because they don’t have sensors or controllers or a way to program the robot. But they are still cool projects, and I’m glad that I have the book. The projects are pretty simple and only have 10-12 steps. I’m 8 years old and can almost do the projects myself but I still needed my mom or dad to help with some steps (especially cutting). I think these are great projects for kids ages 5 and up. If you were 12 years old, you probably wouldn’t need help from a grown-up at all.