Page 193 - Robot Builder's Bonanza

162 CONSTRUCTING HIGH- TECH ROBOTS FROM TOYS

K’NEX

K’NEX uses unusual half- round plastic spokes and connector rods to build everything from
bridges to Ferris wheels to robots. You can build a robot with just K’NEX parts or use the parts
in a larger, mixed- component robot. For example, the base of a walking robot may be made
from a thin sheet of aluminum, but the legs might be constructed from various K’NEX pieces.
A number of K’NEX kits are available, from simple starter sets to rather massive special-
purpose collections (many of which are designed to build robots, dinosaurs, or robot- dinosaurs).
Several of the kits come with small gear motors so you can motorize your creation. The
motors are also available separately.

Other Construction Sets to Try

Toy stores are full of plastic put- together kits and ready- made robot toys that seem to beg you
to use them in your robot designs. Here are some toys you may want to consider for your next
project.

INVENTA
United Kingdom–based Valiant Technologies offers the Inventa system, a
reasonably priced construction system aimed at the educational market.
Inventa is a good source for gears, tracks, wheels, axles, and many other
mechanical parts. The beams used for construction are semiflexible and
can be cut to size. Angles and brackets allow the beams to be connected
in a variety of ways. Inventa isn’t the kind of thing you’ll find at the neigh-
borhood Toys “R” Us. It’s available via mail order and through the Inter-
net; see the Inventa Web site at www. valiant- technology.com.

ZOOB

Zoob is a truly unique form of construction toy. A Zoob piece consists of a stem with a ball or
socket on either end. You can create a wide variety of construction projects by linking the balls
and sockets together. The balls are dimpled so they connect securely within their sockets. One
practical application of Zoob is to create armatures for human- or animal- like robots. The
Zoob pieces work in a way similar to bone joints.

ZOMETOOL
For kids, parents, experimenters, and educators, Zometool sets are composed of ball- shaped con-
nectors (called nodes) and a variety of interconnecting rods they refer to as struts. The sets can be
used to create different physical models of things like DNA, molecules, plane and solid geometric
shapes, and much more. For robotics you can use the parts as construction girders and brackets.
The struts solidly latch into sockets within the nodes, but it’s probably not secure enough
for a robot that careens across the floor. As needed, use glue (a dab of hot glue works) to help
secure the pieces together for a temporary fit; for a more permanent bond use ABS solvent
cement (see Chapter 13, “Assembly Techniques,” for more information about using various
types of adhesives.)

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