My Bang Bot moves by hitting itself with a hammer. It is silly robot with no real functionality other than as a learning platform. It is easy to reconfigure and can come apart and be put back together in different ways. For example, I can remove a wing nut and substitute an ordinary hammer for the dead-blow hammer that is normally used. This dramatically changes the motion of the robot.

Banger can be powered by either batteries or with an external power supply. The DC motor is a seat-belt retraction motor and is geared down to move slowly. I run it at a reduced voltage to reduce the speed further. The torque can also be reduced with a resistor.

You can demonstrate the effect of hammer drive by standing on a short piece of 2X4 and hitting the 2X4 (and not your ankle!) with a hammer. You will skid across the floor in small steps. My robot 'banger' moves the same way, quite slowly!

The robot is built to be easy to reconfigure to try different experiments.

Banger on Youtube