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Build a Bristlebot of Your Own
2025-01-24 | By Sara McCaslin
License: Attribution Adhesive Batteries Misc Hand Tools Vibration / Haptic
Bristlebots are fun, exciting, and a great introduction to STEM. In this article, you will learn how bristlebots work—and how to build your very own. We discuss the tools and equipment you’ll need, then look at how a bristlebot works from an electrical perspective. From there, we move on to assembling your bristlebot, troubleshooting it, and experiments you can perform with it.
Complete bristlebot with decorations.
What You’ll Need
Here’s a list of the basic supplies needed to build a bristlebot similar to that shown above:
Toothbrush head (with the handle cut off)
Flat, smooth surface like a table or countertop
Accessories for decorating the bristlebot
Glue for adding accessories (may need a hot glue gun)
Basic supplies for making a bristlebot.
How a Bristlebot Works
The motion of a bristlebot is based on electricity and solid dynamics but is easy to understand. The bristlebot uses a tiny electric motor (the same type of motor that makes video game controllers and cell phones vibrate) to move, and it is powered by a coin cell battery.
For an electrical circuit to work, it must be complete with no breaks in where the electricity, or the current, needs to flow. You complete an electrical circuit when you connect the battery to the motor. In this case, current flows from the battery through the red wire to the motor, making the motor turn. After it passes through the motor, the current flows back to the battery through the black wire.
Now let’s talk about positive and negative. The negative side of the coin battery is the top, while the positive side is the completely flat bottom. The red wire, or positive wire, connects to the positive side of the battery. The negative side, or black wire, connects the negative part of the battery to the ground wire on the motor.
The completed circuit makes a tiny weight inside the motor spin. This spinning weight is just off-balance enough to make the motor vibrate and buzz. The vibration and buzzing of the motor are directly transferred to the toothbrush head, which will begin to move the bristles if it is on a flat surface, making the robot move around.
An assembled bristlebot.
Assembling Your Bristlebot
Here are the basic instructions for assembling the bristlebot.
Peel the adhesive backing from the motor OR use foam tape to attach the motor to the toothbrush. Remember to leave enough room for the battery.
Peel the backing from one side of the foam tape. Stick that side of the foam tape to the flat surface of the toothbrush.
Peel the backing off the other side of the foam tape. Place the red (positive) wire so that the metal part of the wire will be at the center bottom of the battery. Attach the battery to the foam tape so that its bottom surface is stuck to the tape and will touch the bottom of the battery.
Touch the blue or black (negative) wire to the top of the battery—the bristlebot should now be vibrating.
Customize your bristlebot (see below).
An example of adding very basic decorations to your Bristlebot.
Experiments to Perform
There are so many interesting experiments to perform with your bristlebot, so here are a few ideas to help you learn even more about electricity:
Which works better: the motor at the front or the back?
What changes can I make to make the bristlebot more stable?
What types of motors or batteries let the bristlebot move the fastest?
What type of toothbrush bristles work best (e.g., slanted, straight)?
What shape of toothbrush head works the best?
Create an obstacle course with books, cardboard, erasers, etc., and other objects to see how long it takes the bristlebot to move around them.
What type of surface (carpet, tile, etc.) does the Bristlebot move the best on?
Build bristlebots with friends and see which is the fastest. Can you figure out why?
Troubleshooting Your Bristlebot
There are some common issues that builders run into with bristlebots, so here is a short troubleshooting guide.
How do I turn off my bristlebot?
It’s very simple: remove the top wire from the battery.
How long will my robot’s batteries last?
They can last up to two hours, but it is important to disconnect the battery when you are not using the bristlebot.
How do I help my bristlebot to move straight?
This is an extremely common design challenge. Here are different ways to try:
Position the battery and motor symmetrically to prevent veering to one side or the other.
Adjust bristles for a straight direction.
Experiment with stiffer bristles and shorter lengths for stability.
Attach a lightweight tail for stability (see image below).
Use a guiding track of books or cardboard (or something similar) if other methods don't work.
Each bristlebot may require a bit of tweaking, so experiment with these techniques to find the best setup for yours!
Adding a tail can help stabilize a bristlebot, and this is just one example.
My bristlebot falls over!
This is another common challenge for bristlebot designers. Here is a list of potential solutions to try:
Consider slightly angling the bristles outward; this can give the bot more lateral stability, like the legs on a tripod.
Use a small piece of foam or a rubber band to cushion the motor, which can help absorb some vibrations and make the movement smoother.
Attach a tail (twist-tie, paperclip, or small plastic straw, etc.).
Let the bristlebot lie on its side and vibrate for 5 to 10 minutes to slow the motor down.
Use a lower-power battery or less powerful motor.
The motor no longer vibrates
If your motor stops vibrating, first make sure that the correct wire is touching the battery. Check for broken wires (these wires are quite fragile and can break close to the base). Finally, the battery could be drained.
The motor seems weak
The battery is most likely running out of power and will need to be replaced soon.
Conclusion
Building a bristlebot is fun, assembling it is easy, and designing it to perform the way you want is definitely a design challenge.
Have questions or comments? Continue the conversation on TechForum, DigiKey's online community and technical resource.
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