What is a g☼ggab☼t?
A g☼ggab☼t is a small solar-powered robot. About 200 (most of them bristlebots, and some rolling bots) have been built in the workshops during ISEA 2018, Durban, and subsequently at Baleni Senior Secondary School, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.
gogga
noun
A g☼ggab☼t consists of a printed circuit board (pcb), one or two solar cells, a motor, a capacitor and some mechanical parts. For the workshops, the pcb was pre-populated with smd components. The participants soldered the larger components to the board and added bristles (for bristlebots), wire, rubber bands and wheels made from bottle caps (for rolling bots), beads and other things to create their individual bot.
How can I build my own g☼ggab☼t?
We have created a pamphlet with a short description of the parts and some building instructions:
Pamphlet in English
Pamphlet in Zulu
The production files for the pcb and further documentation are available on GitHub.
How does the circuit work?
The g☼ggab☼t uses the “sun eater” circuit which was contributed by Uwe Schüler of Kulturgüter-Schuppen. It is a simple “solar engine” that collects light until there is enough energy to start the motor. A schematic and a short description of the circuit is also on the pamphlet.