Page 269 - Robots Androids and Animatrons : 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build

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12.1 Solar-ball robot

This solar-ball robot uses a similar gearbox assembly, but for power
uses two standard AA batteries. The disadvantage to batteries is
that they must be replaced when worn out. The advantage, how-
ever, is that they supply continuous power to the robot, allowing
one to easily study its behavior (mainly phototropism), locomotion,
and mobility.

With the original solar-ball robot, one needs to use time-lapse pho-
tography to study these effects. The charging of the capacitor
takes a few minutes, depending on the intensity of sunlight. When
the electricity is discharged into the motor, the robot lurches for-
ward a short distance. For example, 10 hours (h) of motion with
the original solar ball can be compressed into a few minutes of
study with this robot.
While this particular robot doesn’t incorporate the electronics for
an onboard power supply, it still uses a light trigger. The circuit
shown in Fig 12.2 controls the power from the batteries to the
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Chapter twelve