Stiquito facts for kids
Stiquito (say it: sti-KEE-toh) is a small, six-legged robot. It's been around since 1992 and is often used by universities, high schools, and people who enjoy building things as a hobby.
Contents
What is Stiquito?
Stiquito is a type of hexapod robot, which means it has six legs, just like many insects. It's known for being small and not too expensive. This makes it a great tool for learning about robots and how they work.
How Stiquito Moves: Nitinol Muscles
Stiquito's "muscles" are made from a special material called nitinol. Nitinol is a type of shape memory alloy. This means it can change its shape and then return to its original shape.
Here's how it works:
- When nitinol wire gets hot, its internal structure changes.
- This change makes the wire contract, or get shorter, much like a real muscle.
- When the wire cools down, it goes back to its original size and shape.
This clever design allows Stiquito to move its legs and walk!
Who Invented Stiquito?
Stiquito was created by Jonathan W. Mills at Indiana University. He first made it for his own research, but he soon realized it could be very useful for teaching.
Stiquito helps students learn about many exciting topics, such as:
- Analogue and Digital Electronics: How electronic parts work together.
- Computer Control: How computers can tell robots what to do.
- Robotics: The science of designing and building robots.
It has also been used for more advanced subjects like artificial intelligence (making computers think) and complex computer architecture.
Learning with Stiquito Books
Over the years, several books have been published about Stiquito. These books are special because they often include everything you need to build your own Stiquito robot!
The books teach you:
- How to build the Stiquito robot step-by-step.
- How to design and build the electronic circuits that control the robot.
- Examples of projects you can do with Stiquito.
Some books even include chapters written by famous robot inventors, like Mark Tilden. Later books focused more on education, including experiments with electricity and electronics, and showing how to control Stiquito using computers or microcontrollers. One book even came with a special controller board to help you get started!
