Make an Android phone app to control your littleBits projects
Before we settled on the paddleboat configuration we describe in this article, we tried a few different designs, so you should experiment to find out what works best for you. The most important thing about the design is the paddles: They need to be waterproof and long enough to touch the water. (See the "Parts" box for the supplies we used.)
Construction
The first step is to cut four rectangles out of thin cardboard (from cereal or cracker boxes). For our design, we used paddles that were 2x4.75 inches (5x12cm). We cut slits half way in each paddle blade, so that the two pieces would fit together (Figure 1). Next, we put the paddles into the littleBits DC Motor bit with the slotted motorMate attachment and covered them in duct tape. You need to make sure the cardboard is completely covered or it will get wet and break down.
For the boat, we used a plastic container 6 inches (15cm) wide in which to fit the littleBits mounting plate (Figure 2). Duct tape on the bottom and sides of the littleBits mounting plate secured it to the plastic container. We found that our boat floated a little higher in the water than we wanted, so we added some weight by using 6 AA batteries for power (Figure 3).
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