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Spider's stabilizer bar

Created by Karl Wendt.

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Video transcript

So this stabilizer bar that we're going to create is going to be made out of a paper clip. And basically, we're just going to use the paper clip to help keep the bot from rocking back and forth when it moves around on the table. That will help to conserve the power, and it will also move more smoothly. So most of the weight is carried by the wheels, but every once in awhile, when the bot moves forward or backward quickly, it tilts. And so this bar is going to help to keep it from tilting too much. And that'll help to prolong battery life and make it move more smoothly. So right now, we're just bending it in a big giant C. And we're going to take that C shape and bend the ends down. And that basically just gives us more to tape onto. So we're going to use some electrical tape to connect our stabilizer bar. And in order to get it to work right, we need to put two little bumps at the bottom so that it can sort of hold our bot up. And this takes a lot of adjusting. If the bar sticks down too far, the bot won't move. And if it doesn't stick down far enough, it will continue to rock. So really, you kind of have to trial and error your way through it. But once you do, you can get the bot to move really smoothly. And it'll only tilt just a slight amount.