Giant Bristlebot at the Ann Arbor (mini) Maker Faire

i3Detroit's wacky, huge take on bristlebots, which are normally thumb-sized: Made with a cellphone vibrate motor, a button (or AAA) cell, and a toothbrush head, they skitter around the tabletop or floor.

One night, the brains (ha!) behind i3 decided to build a giant one. Big enough for a person to ride on. Ed ordered some push-broom heads, and a few days later, parts started coming together. The motor from an electric scooter. Some big bearings and a piece of pipe as an eccentric weight. Two sprockets and a chain to move power from one shaft to the other.

Initially it ran on two 12v batteries, and at 24v, the shaking was pretty violent and it moved at a decent clip. But early on the day of the Faire, one of the batteries conked out, leaving the more sedate 12v setup you see in this video.

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  • Autos & Vehicles

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