Experiment 32: A Little Robot Cart

Robotics is another application of electronics that deserves a book in itself—or several books. So, once again, I’m going to give you an introduction followed by some points that you can follow if you want to go further. As always, I will start with the simplest possible device, which in the world of robotics is a cart that finds its way around your living room.

You will need:

• SPST or SPDT microswitches requiring minimal pressure to activate them. A force between 0.02 and 0.1 newtons would be ideal. Quantity: 2. See Figure 5-74.

  

  Figure 5-74. A microswitch has a small button (at the front, righthand side in this picture) that is often actuated by a pivoted metal lever. The switch can respond to a very light pressure, but can handle relatively high currents.