BristleBot

March 26, 2008 11:04 AM

How to make a BristleBot You can also make one from a computer chip.

Make several and have a race. Lots of other cool stuff at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories.

posted by weapons-grade pandemonium (22 comments total)

That's pretty clever.
posted by justkevin at 11:34 AM on March 26

Very cool.
posted by misha at 11:47 AM on March 26

Hey, build an army! Here's some cheap supplies for your grunts.
posted by misha at 11:49 AM on March 26 [1 favorite]

But can you make a BristleBot out of a computer chip that controls the BristleBot?
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 11:54 AM on March 26

I'm using the leftover part of the toothbrush to make a shank.
posted by Tube at 11:54 AM on March 26 [1 favorite]

EMSL is really great. And I just now realized that you could maybe make a bristlebot out of an electric toothbrush without any modification at all, other than mounting it in the right orientation.
posted by DU at 11:58 AM on March 26

It's cute and clever. However, I don't see how it's any more of a robot than a classic wind-up toy is.
posted by dersins at 12:09 PM on March 26

i think i just threw away one of those motors. I NEVER throw things away, unless I'll want them a few days later.
posted by tomplus2 at 12:24 PM on March 26

This is reminiscent of the old electric football games of the 50s. Here is an advertisement.

Instead of a motor on each player, you have one motor which vibrates the entire playing field.
posted by JackFlash at 12:35 PM on March 26

It appears the site is down. Here's the google cache for the bristlebot link.
posted by wsg at 12:38 PM on March 26

It's back up. Never mind.
posted by wsg at 12:39 PM on March 26

This robot... it moves?
posted by ooga_booga at 1:01 PM on March 26

...controlled by a single vibrating (eccentric) motor.

I was once the manager of the manufacturing engineering department of a company that makes joystick controllers for construction machines. A customer wanted to add a "thumper" feature to a joystick to provide variable-intensity feed back to crane operators' hands to indicate cable drum speed. So I went out to the local adult emporium, purchased a suitably-sized "joy toy," took it apart for the eccentric motor, and cobbled-together a prototype in record time. I never filed the expense report.

True story.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:05 PM on March 26 [4 favorites]

Site is down again. YouTube link.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 1:42 PM on March 26

Sorry, server melted.

Here's the text of the actual article, full text & photos (Google Cache): [link]
posted by oskay at 2:04 PM on March 26

Some day they will make these very, very tiny, and put them in toothpaste.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:07 PM on March 26 [2 favorites]

Ha! Hiya, oskay.
posted by cortex at 2:16 PM on March 26

Reminds me of the scrubbing bubbles. I want to unleash an army of them in my bathtub.
posted by potch at 2:23 PM on March 26 [1 favorite]

Ooo! Mefi's own mad scientist!
posted by misha at 2:30 PM on March 26

I have three words: Ultimate. Cat. Toys.

Which could be followed by three other words: Unstoppable. Army. Of.
posted by quin at 2:35 PM on March 26

Penultimate. Cat. Toys.
Ultimate cat toys are BristleBots with little lasers.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 2:58 PM on March 26

Cat toys?
Heck, my 18-month-old boy Henry is going to shit his pants with joy when I make one of these this evening.
But then he shits his pants twice a day already.
posted by Dizzy at 6:05 PM on March 26 [2 favorites]