BRISTLEBOTS
V4 Bristlebot Kit
Our V4 kit designed with durability, speed, and easy assembly in mind. The V4 kits encompasses the best features of our older V2 and V3 kits. The kits features wires and circuit assemblies like our V2 kits but maintained the robustness of our V3 kits. The V4 kits are great for classrooms to introduce to basics to robotics and circuits and perfect for educational events.
About Bristlebots
Bristlebot is a simple micro robot built attaching a micro motor to a conventional tooth-brush head. Bristlebot kits were developed as an affordable tool to engage young students in any S.T.E.M based activity.
How the robot works
The motion of the robot is caused by the transfer of kinetic energy from the vibration of the micro motor, through the robot, to the ground.
The bristles rapid motion enables the robots locomotion.
What's Included
Each V4 kit comes with standard material to make and customize a Bristlebot. You are not limited to the materials included in the kit and we recommend adding custom material to personalize your robot.
Each Bristlebots kit is individually packaged and ready to go. Our kits are ideal for distributing at events and educational programs.
Each bristlebots kit includes the following: (1) Custom Brush Head,
(1) Motor Module, (1) Coin Battery, (2) Jumper Cable, (2) Wiggle Eyes, (1) Chenille Stem, (2) Glu Dots, (3) Rubber Bands.
V4 Kit Details
The V4 kits are ideal for any event or classroom activities. The kits include an all new battery and motor module to build our fastest Bristlebot yet.
No more hot messy soldering. Attaching the motors and batteries is easier than ever using the jumper cables. The custom brushes are also design to easily mount the motor and battery modules.
V4 Bristlebots Kit Motor Module
We designed the V4 kits to be easier for assembly without sacrificing the D.I.Y. aspect. The motor module easily attaches to the battery module using the jumper cables making it an ease to turn on and off.
The motors have the perfect sized counter balanced to create a powerful and agile Bristlebot.
V4 Bristlebots Kit Battery Module
We've decided to utilize lithium ion 3V coin batteries in our new kits. The higher voltage compared to our older model kits gives an extra jolt to our Bristlebot kits for a faster and more energetic robot. Each kit comes with x1 coin battery.
Custom Brushes
What is it that makes a Bristlebot fly across the tabletop? The slanted brushes will help propel the robot forward, and a reduced amount of bristles help it glide easier across the tabletop. The brushes are designed to be light weight and made to easily attach components.
Our brushes come in 4 colors (white, cyan, yellow, and red). Each Kit comes with one of these colors selected randomly.
Basic Assembly
Step 1:
Insert battery into the battery module and attach glu dots.
Step 2:
Mount the motor module on top and secure the two modules using the rubber bands.
Step 3:
To turn ON, plug in the jumper cables to complete the circuit. Design the robot using the chenille stem and wiggle eyes.
Disclaimer: The image(s) used above are photorealistic renderings of the product. The result may not reflect the quality or the likeliness of the actual product.
Safety Notice
This is a robotics kit used to assemble your own Bristlebot robot. We promote its high degree of freedom and customizability; however, if the parts included are used incorrectly or not in its intended design, it can be a danger to you or to others. Please read all of the following safety information with an adult before starting.
Warning
CHOKING HAZARD - Small parts not for children under 3 years of age or any individuals who have a tendency to place inedible objects in their mouths.
Caution
・Product is not meant to be thrown, swung, or handled with force.
・Do not handle the product with wet hands. Keep the product away from water and keep in a dry environment.
・Watch out for sharp edged.
・Do not show-circuit batteries. Misuse of the batteries may cause the batteries to overheat, rupture, or ignite.
・Do not use rechargeable batteries.
・Remove batteries when not in use. Discard used batteries properly.
Bristlebots in schools
Over the last several years we have distributed over 50,000+ Bristlebot kits worldwide. Within our own community we have been able to support many schools by working extensively with the students of Kalani High School (HI, USA).
In the classroom
Bristlebots has been used in all levels of education from K-12 and higher education to promote S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and robotics education both in and outside of the classrooms. Bristlebots is an easy and cost effective introduction to these field of study. Bristlebot acts as a crucial hook to introduce critical thinking and ingenuity to solve real world problems.
How to get started
With our Bristlebot kits and online resources it can be easy to get started with hosting your own program at your school or using it in your classroom.
Bristlebots in the community
Bristlebots are found across the nation in S.T.E.M. outreach program, summer camps, and events. We are proud of providing kits to the YMCA, US Military, and NASA camps.
In the community
Working with our local high school robotics team program, Bristlebots are used to engage with our community directly. Together we routinely perform demonstrations at schools, community centers, shopping centers, science fairs, museums, and more!
Bristlebots for students abroad
Working with our local Rotary and Lions club we have donated kits all around the world to provide opportunities to students in Africa, Morocco, and Tanzania to work with our kits.
Research
We would like to demonstrate how a simple idea like bristlebots inspired a more complex and diverse research. We hope that Bristlebots will continue to act as a gateway for more students to aspire in the world of science and engineering.
Harvard University
This is a research conducted by the school of engineering and applied sciences and department of physics at Harvard University. Main Researcher: Nico Hawley-Weld. Nico Hawley-Weld is a FIRST robotics alumni (Team 1414) and currently working on advanced research project at Harvard University.
Swarming, swirling and stasis in sequestered bristle-bots
L. Giomi, N. Hawley-Weld and L. Mahadevan
School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Department of Physics,
Harvard University, Pierce Hall, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
The collective ability of organisms to move coherently in space and time is ubiquitous in any group of autonomous agents that can move and sense each other and the environment. Here, we investigate the origin of collective motion and its loss using macroscopic self-propelled bristle-bots, simple automata made from a toothbrush and powered by an onboard cell phone vibrator-motor, that can sense each other through shape-dependent local interactions, and can also sense the environment non-locally via the effects of confinement and substrate topography. .. continue reading
Resources
Design Workbook
The design workbook is a free workbook to supplement the Bristlebot kits. The workbook consist of lessons, worksheets, and activities revolving around S.T.E.M. concepts.