Introduction

Robotics comprises at least four major branches of learning: electrical engineering (circuits and
sensors), mechanical engineering and machining (gears, motors, and body), computer science
(pseudo-intelligent behavior), and arts (expression, style, designs, and fun). Technology has
made it possible that an individual does not need to be an expert in each field in order to build
a decent robot. However, a background in one field, will naturally help the person’s creations
revolve around that strength. Moreover, robotics provides an exciting opportunity to learn new
skills and find hidden talents.

Robot
Williams (2019) defined a robot as an electromechanical device with multiple degrees-of-
freedom (the number of independent motions a device can make) that is programmable to
accomplish a variety of tasks. Cbenson (2018) views a robot as an electromechanical device
which is capable of reacting in some way to its environment, and take autonomous decisions
or actions in order to achieve a specific task. Serholt (2017) refers to a robot as anything ranging
from a decision-making software program to a fully autonomous physical system. A robot,
according to Robot Institute of America (1979), is a reprogrammable, multifunctional
manipulator designed to move material, parts, tools or specialized devices through variable
programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks. Nonetheless, in this study,
robots are perceived as reprogrammable devices that can mimic humans, manipulate objects in
the real world, sense information about the real world, interface in a friendly manner with
humans, make decisions based on available information and perform variety of task based on
set of instructions provided. Robots process sensor data, perform cognition and plan actions
using computer programs (a set of instructions that operate on an input to produce an output)
that are executed on a processor. Robots can be fixed in positions (manipulators), mobile
(legged or wheeled robots) or hybrid (humanoid robots). These devices are used for
manufacturing, exploration, transportation, health care services, personal services, human
augmentation, teaching and learning among others. Hence, they have found their way into all
sectors and institutions including social media, security, hospital, homes and education.

Educational Robot

In the educational sector, robots have played significant roles in today’s teaching and learning
processes. There are many educational robots that aid in driving learning within and outside

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school setting. Mubin, Stevens, Shahid, Al Mahmud, & Dong, (2013) defined an educational
robot as a subset of educational technology, where they are used to facilitate learning and
improve educational performance of students. In this setting, Educational robots are
reprogrammable devices that are capable of reacting in some way to its environment, taking
autonomous decisions (based on available information) and performing variety of task (based
on set of instructions provided) that would facilitate teaching and learning processes and also
improve the academic performances of students. These devices could be zoomorphic (animal-
like), anthropomorphic (human-like), autonomous wheeled or aerial vehicle. They are used
both in and out of school environments to enhance pre-basic to secondary education students’
interest, deeper engagement, and academic achievement in various fields of STEAM education
(Anwar, Bascou, Menekse, & Kardgar, 2019). Educational robots have been used for various
reasons such as instructional materials (Lau, Tan, Erwin, & Petrovic, 1999; Wang, 2004),
learning companions (Kory & Breazeal, 2014; Kory, Jeong, & Breazeal, 2013), and teaching
assistants (Han & Kim, 2009; You, Shen, Chang, Liu, & Chen, 2006). The educational robots
for pre-basic to secondary education and robotics competitions have emerged as highly popular
educational activities that actively engage children in critical thinking and problem solving in
team settings (Menekse, Higashi, Schunn, & Baehr, 2017). Educational robotics enable
students to analyze a task (problem), search for several solutions, discuss as a group and choose
the best solution to the problem at hand. This skill shapes the habit of breaking down the
problem, analyzing it and creating an algorithm for the problem. Educational robots allow
pupils to lead their own learning development as they progress through a Build-Play-Learn
ideology and also offer systematic and logical build process with simple guided tasks.
Educational robots promote creativity and act entryway into computer science but is also
adaptable enough to be used up to university level. According to El Mouhamad & Rahim
(2019), educational robotics provides an effective learning tool for students in various STEAM
fields, improves students’ communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills, and creates a
fun and engaging learning environment for students. Educational robots enable students of all
ages to become familiar with and deepen their knowledge of robotics and programming, while
at the same time learning other cognitive skills.

Usually these robots come with curriculum that guides the students on how to program them,
how to interface them to their environments (sensors, educational or industrial CNC machines,
etc.), and how to maintain them. In addition, the educational robots come with 3D simulation
software, which enables the students to practice with a virtual robot and its environment.

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Therefore, students are encouraged to study the curriculum thoroughly for effective
programming of the educational robots.

Components Required for Educational Robots

Robots are made to augment or replace human in certain jobs that are detrimental to human’s
health. Hence, they are modelled using human analogy or anatomy. Just like a human being, a
robot is a system that is made up of sub-systems. Each sub-system consists of different
components that function together as an entity. Because robots are modelled to mimic human
in certain behaviours, it is very difficult to find a single robot that perform all the functions of
a human. Therefore, robots are built based on the function the developer wants them to perform.
These, robots come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The components of a robot depend
on the project at hand; what kind of robot to build, what the robot will do, the robotic platform
to use. Hence, different projects have different components. Moreover, different robotics
manufacturers/companies have different names and shapes for their products/kits. From
anatomical point of view, robot components generally fit into one or more of the following
categories: brains, electrical power, sensors, action and feedback, and body/aesthetics (Cook,
2009). However, in this study, the components of a robot are grouped into the following sub-
systems: central control system, sense system, life or energy system, structural and locomotive
system, circuitry system and protective system.

The Central Control System is the brain of a robot. This component controls most of the
activities of the robot; processing, integrating, and coordinating the information it receives
from other parts; and making decision as to the instructions sent to the rest of the robot parts.
Robots can be built without a brain, such as those robots operated by a human via remote
control or a joystick. Robots can also be built with distributed brains, where simpler chips
handle individual parts (such as a leg or an arm) without knowing anything about what the rest
of the body is doing. Or, robots can even be built with the brains located away from the body,
such as on a laptop computer. Nonetheless, robot’s brains are the microcontroller chip. A
microcontroller is a computing device capable of executing a program (a sequence of
instructions) and also responsible for all computations, decision making, and communications.
In order to interact with the outside world, a microcontroller possesses a series of pins
(electrical signal connections) that can be turned HIGH (1/ON), or LOW (0/OFF) through
programming instructions. These pins can also be used to read electrical signals (coming from
sensors or other devices) and tell whether they are HIGH or LOW. Microcontrollers are very

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similar to microprocessors, which are found in personal computers. A microcontroller differs
in that it is almost like an entire tiny computer merged into a single piece.

Figure 1: Microcontrollers

Microcontrollers have small amounts of memory and storage space built directly into the chip.
Where the PC microprocessor dedicates its pins to high-speed memory, a microcontroller has
a diverse variety of input and output pins. These pins can connect directly to sensors, buttons,
and other odd devices. Microcontrollers can be found in automobiles, household washers,
dryers, VCRs, and other appliances.

The Life or Energy System: Robots are able to move and compute with help of energy supplied
from the power source. Electrical power is also used, almost exclusively, for controlling
sensors and actuators, even when non-electrical energy provides the main motive force. So,
robots generally need electrical energy to function effectively. This system consists of the
following components: power source, power regulation and power switch.

Power sources for robots are from consumer batteries, rechargeable batteries and solar energy.
Most robots are supplied power from popular consumer batteries. Consumer batteries are safe,
inexpensive, readily available, reliable, and standardized; however; rechargeable batteries are
preferable. Although the initial cost of a rechargeable battery is higher, they save the robot
builder a lot of money in the long run especially during the period of experimentation. Solar
power is another good option due to the irregularity in the main power source. More
sophisticated solar-powered robots recharge batteries during optimal lighting conditions, with
the batteries maintaining power to the brains during dark conditions.

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Figure 2: Rechargeable Battery and Consumer battery of different sizes

Although robots can be built with gasoline-powered engines and pneumatic actuators, at some
level almost every robot contains electronic components. The electrical power supply consists
of a raw power source; a regulating circuit to stabilize and process the source; and a switch to
activate and deactivate.

Power regulator is the part of robot that is responsible for maintaining a steady, specific level
of power available to all of the electronics parts of the robot. As batteries are used up, the power
regulator provides less and less power. Unless stabilized, this would result in a robot that moves
at different speeds and has different light brightness and sensor readings based on battery
freshness.

Figure 3: Power regulating circuit based on a Microchip MCP1826S, which is the modern
equivalent to the classic 7805

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Another reason for power regulation is that some parts of the robot need more power than other
parts. For example, motors require more power than logic chips or blinking lights. The power
regulation module steps down (or, conversely, boosts) the battery power to the range needed
by each major part.

Most robots have power switches; used to enable and disable the robot (for maintenance or
storage). However, solar-powered robots usually do not have a power switch; they are always
on.

Figure 4. A heavy-duty power switch

Sense System: Unlike humans, robots are not limited to just sight, sound, touch, smell and taste
senses. Robots use a variety of different electromechanical sensors to sense (explore and
understand) their environment and themselves. Emulating a living creature’s senses is currently
very difficult, so researchers and developers have resorted to sensors; alternatives to biological
senses. A sensor is a window for a robot to the environment. The Instrument Society of America
defined sensor as a device which provides a usable output (electrical quantity) in response to a
specified measure (physical quantity, property or condition which is measured). The output is
an electrical quantity while the measure is a physical quantity, property or condition which is
measured (Patranabis, 1997). According to Editorial (2019), sensors are defined by various
properties that describe their capabilities such as sensitivity (change of output and change of
input), linearity (constancy of output and input), response time (time required for a change in
input to force a change in the output), measurement/dynamic range (difference between
minimum and maximum), accuracy (difference between measured & actual), repeatability
(difference between repeated measures), resolution (smallest observable increment), and
bandwidth (result of high resolution or cycle time). Sensors allow robots to understand and
measure the geometric and physical properties of objects in their surrounding environment,

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such as position, orientation, velocity, acceleration, distance, size, force, moment, temperature,
luminance, and weigh.

Sensors are able to obtain data from the interaction between robots and their environment. It is
very difficult for a robot (without sensor) to sense the existence of objects and its actual
parameter of interest and to perform the various tasks such as for pick and place an object. A
human is able to find a specified object by sensing it and this human sensing is done by their
brain and past experiences. To operate a robot effectively it is necessary to provide them sensor
and vision system. Robotic sensors are used in robotic system for a variety of tasks such as to
detect the work piece, its existence and obstacles present in the environment.

Figure 5: Varieties of Sensors

There are many sensors available. The choice of a sensor depends on what the robot developer
wants the robot to sense. Examples of sensor include sound, light, push button/contact switch,
pressure sensor, ultrasonic range finders, infrared, laser, encoders, linear potentiometer, and
stretch and bend sensors. Each of these sensors enable the robot to perceive and respond to the
events within its environment. For instance, touch tensors; enable the robot to respond to
obstacles in the environment, sound sensor; enables the robot to respond to sound levels, light
sensor; enables the robot to respond to variations in light level and color, and ultrasonic sensor;
enables the robot to measure distance to an object and to respond to movement.

Nonetheless, sensors are classified as tactile (internal) and non-tactile (external). The internal
sensors detect the change in position, acceleration, force, torque at the end effecter (Bohidar,
Patel & Sen, 2015) and obtain the information about the robot itself (Editorial, 2019) while
external sensors detect presence, distance, and features of work piece (Bohidar, Patel & Sen,
2015) and gather the information in the surrounding environment (Editorial, 2019). Most
educational robots end up with fewer than a dozen sensors of four or five major types while

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complicated ones might have infrared object detection, touch switches, brightness sensors, a
battery tester, tilt switches, and perhaps a temperature probe.

Structural and Locomotive System: This system consists of the components that are responsible
for shape, performances/actions and movement of robots. Robots perform actions coordinated
with the processing of sensor information. Most often the action is in the form of movement;
however; sounds, displays, indicator lights, and other forms of feedback are also actions, which
are usually intended to provoke humans to act. Most educational robots move around with only
a pair of wheels. Unlike an automobile’s four wheels and one motor, a robot’s two wheels and
two motors provide agile turning and sufficient force without the additional weight of elaborate
drive trains.

Figure 6. Pairs of tiny pager motors attached to wheels via belts

The first component of the structural and locomotive system is the motor controllers. Like the
power regulator, a motor controller is required on most robots. The sudden starting and
stopping (and stalling) of motors involves bursts of power; much more power than the brains
can supply by itself. So, a portion of the robot is dedicated to managing the enabling of the
motors and is responsible for protecting the rest of the electronics from backlashes and surges.

Figure 7. Motor control circuits with chips and diodes

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A motor controller is an electronic device (usually comes in the shape of a bare circuit board
without enclosure) that acts as an intermediate device between a microcontroller, a
power supply or batteries, and the motors. Although the microcontroller (the robot's
brain) decides the speed and direction of the motors, it cannot drive them directly because of
its very limited power (current and voltage) output. The motor controller, on the other hand,
can provide the current at the required voltage but cannot decide how fast the motor should
turn. Thus, the microcontroller and the motor controller have to work together in order to make
the motors move appropriately.

Usually, the microcontroller can instruct the motor controller on how to power the motors via
a standard and simple communication method such as Universal Asynchronous Receiver-
Transmitter (UART) or Pulse Width Modulation (PWM). Also, some motor controllers can
be manually controlled by an analogue voltage (usually created with a potentiometer). There
are several types of motor controllers: brushed DC motor controllers (used with brushed DC,
DC gear motors, and many linear actuators), brushless DC motor controllers (used with
brushless DC motors), servo motor controllers (used for hobby servo motors) and stepper motor
controllers (used with unipolar or bipolar stepper motors depending on their kind).

The second component of the structural and locomotive system is the actuators. Actuators serve
as the muscle for the robot. An actuator can be defined as a device that converts energy (in
robotics, that energy tends to be electrical) into physical motion. The majority of actuators
produce either rotational or linear motion. Rotational actuators transform electrical energy into
a rotating motion. They include AC motor, DC motors, geared DC motors, R/C servo motors,
industrial servo motors, and stepper motors. Linear actuators produce linear motion (motion
along one straight line). They include DC linear actuator, solenoids, muscle wire, pneumatic
and hydraulic.

Figure 8. Varieties of Motor Controllers

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The third component of the structural and locomotive system is the wheels. Wheels allow heavy
loads to be moved across dry land with a fraction of the force and energy needed to drag them.
Wheels may be free or driven. Free wheels turn passively in response to forces applied to their
circumference or to a vehicle on which they are mounted. Driven wheels are a modern
invention and turn because they are connected a motive power source. They can be used to
propel a vehicle, or to supply rotational energy to other mechanisms. The simplest driven wheel
is one connected directly to a motor. More often, a driven wheel is connected to its power
source through a more or less complex mechanical system called a transmission. Transmissions
serve to reduce speed, increase torque, and provide control over the rotation of a driven wheel.

Figure 9. Robot Wheels

Almost all educational robots use driven wheel. So, when selecting wheels for a robot, the robot
designer should ensure that both the wheels and their mountings are sufficiently strong and
stable for the application. The wheel should also be large enough to handle roughness in the
environment. A smooth wheel should not be expected to handle bumps larger than about 1/10
its radius. Special tires and drive trains can handle rougher terrain.

The forth component of the structural and locomotive system is the joints and fasteners. Robots
are made of many parts, generally connected to each other. Connections may be moveable or
rigid. Moveable connections; which allow significant motion between components in one or
more degrees of freedom are handled by the joints; while the rigid connections; which do not
allow motion between components are handled by the fasteners (nuts, bolts, screws and glues).
The later are used to connect components that need to be rigidly attached to each other so as to
form the equivalent of a single element. There are two basic methods of connecting parts to
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each other. The first is to use discrete mechanical components (such as nuts and bolts) to fasten
the main components together.

Figure 10. Varieties of Fasteners

These fasteners may themselves bear significant loads. The second is to bond the component
materials directly together at a microscopic level, via either material fusion (welding) or micro-
mechanical/molecular forces using glues or adhesives.

Figure 11. Varieties of Adhesives

Just like the cartilages in the human body; robot joints are used to connect the structural parts
of the robots especially the articulation parts. Robots usually move with the help of at least a
few moving mechanical parts though some have many. The contrivances that allow parts of a
robot to move with respect to each other while maintaining physical connectedness are broadly

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referred to as joints. All joints, in addition to allowing movement, also constrain it. A joint can
be described either in terms of the movement it allows, or in terms of the movement it prohibits.
The two descriptions are flip sides of the same thing. Joints can be classified in terms of the
constraints they place on the relative movement of the parts they connect. A revolute or
rotational joint allows only rotation about a single fixed axis while a prismatic joint allows only
translation along a fixed line, with no relative rotation. However, complex joints can be
constructed by combining simple rotational and prismatic elements. Finally, a cylindrical joint
can be viewed as a rod-in-hole arrangement that allows both sliding and rotational movement.
It has two degrees of freedom. Cylindrical joints are often used in adjustment mechanisms,
allowing both the position and orientation of a component to be aligned and then locked down
with a single screw or clamp.

The last component of the structural and locomotive system is the indicator lights. Lots of tiny
lights adorn most robots. LEDs (light-emitting diodes) indicate power status, motors engaging,
sensor detection, and decision-making. This display of the robot’s state (feedback) makes error
correction and design improvements a lot easier. The lights also make a robot look more
fascinating.

Figure 12. A row of LEDs for target detection

LEDs are simple to use. They’re inexpensive, lightweight, cool to the touch, and are being
produced in an increasing variety of colors.

The Circuitry System: This system consists of the discrete and transmission components of
robots. They are responsible for boosting the energy system, for connecting two or more
electronic components together and are also used to transmit energy and data across other
components. Support chips, wires, connectors, breadboards, capacitors, resistors, diodes, and
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other components play important roles in bringing circuits together while wires, connectors
and support chips help in energy and data transmission across other components. A few support
chips (such as ultra-low power hybrid chip) are commonly used to gather connections together
before reaching a microcontroller. Support chips can also preprocess signals (such as from
sensors and buttons) to decrease the workload of the brains.

The breadboard is used to make circuits. But mostly after testing your circuits on breadboard
we will be making PCB. The breadboard is different mainly according to the size of their holes.
This breadboard has a medium sized holes and this type is most preferred. A resistor resists the
flow of electric current. Any material that permits the flow of electricity has some degree of
resistance. When selecting resistors, their values and power ratings should be considered.
However, the size of the resistor determines its power rating. A resistor can be either fixed or
variable.

Figure 13. Wires, connectors, capacitors, diodes, and resistors

A capacitor is a device that stores electrical energy by charge separation. Conceptually, a

capacitor can be thought of as a pair of conducting (metal) plates with a thin layer of insulating
material between them. Like resistor, there is fixed and variable capacitor, however, fixed
capacitors are usually used in robotics. The electric current flowing in any conductor produces
a magnetic field. Magnetic fields store energy, hence as currents ebb and flow in a circuit,
magnetic energy must be considered as part of the overall energy balance equation.
Such inductive effects can be exploited for various purposes in an electronic circuit, and an
inductor is a circuit element intended to produce effects purely due to stored magnetic energy.

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Since coils are an effective geometry for producing strong magnetic fields, inductors tend to
be coils. The main effect of an inductor in a circuit is to oppose change in the current flowing
in it. This opposition manifests as a voltage across the inductor whenever the current is
changing.

Diodes are two terminal devices which conduct electricity in one direction. Unlike resistors,
capacitors, and inductors, diodes are non-linear devices. An ideal diode allows current to flow
without resistance from the anode (+ side) to the cathode (- side) in forward biased condition.
In the reverse bias condition (- on the anode, + on the cathode) no current flows at all. In
robotics, normal diodes used as freewheeling diodes or as rectifiers to make power supply. The
diodes used in robotics include Light Emitting Diode (LED), Infrared Light Emitting Diodes
(IR LEDs), Photo Diodes and Zener Diodes. Finally, transistors display complex behavior
compared to linear components, and there are a lot of practical issues involved in employing
them effectively in a circuit. In robotics, discrete transistors are typically employed fairly
simply, usually as electrically controlled switches. More complex applications are generally
handled by commodity integrated circuits of various sorts where the complexity of
implementing useful and easily describable functionality has been wrapped up and hidden
inside a chip.

As nerves are to the human bodies, so are wires to robots. Wires serve as connectors as well as
transmission components. Wires are used to connect one electrical or electronic component to
the other. They serve as the channel through which electrical energy passes to the required
components. Robots use electrical wires for one of two purposes: transmission of power, or
transmission of information. Occasionally a line may serve both purposes; such as Universal
Serial Bus (USB) cables; but generally the functionality is distinct. This is because power
transmission lines need to be sized according to the amount of power they carry. If too small
they can overheat, melt, catch fire, and generally produce all sorts of mayhem. Signal lines, on
the other hand carry little power, and size is generally not a critical issue. However nearby lines
and components can produce interference through electromagnetic coupling, so attention needs
to be paid to routing and shielding.

The Protective system: This component serves as the body; covering and housing for the robot.
It is used to hold the pieces together and to protect the internal components against injuries.
The other important aspect of a body is visual appeal. It is used for fancy; to add beauty to the

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outer part of the robot. No matter how technically amazing a robot is, the finishing touches in
appearance greatly affect how onlookers perceive the robot.

Figure 14. A Robot Made from a Candy Container

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