Robot Maze

Here’s one way to build an inexpensive, reconfigurable maze for robot projects:

The goal was to build a reconfigurable maze or pen for small robots, like Lego Mindstorms or Scribbler. The constraints were

• • Maze walls must be heavy enough not to be displaced by robot collision.
  • We shouldn’t have to do any of our own wood- or machine-shop work.
  • We should be able to build and dismantle the maze quickly and easily.
  • We should be able to store the maze components in a small space.

Our solution was to build the maze walls from brick paving stones (“pavers”), around 7x2x4″ in size, and the floor from 2′ x4′ 1/4″ oak plywood paneling. The bricks cost around 50 cents apiece from construction/masonry supply stores like ConRock, and the plywood comes in 4×8′ sheets at around $24 each from hardware/lumber stores like Lowe’s or Home Depot. (If you’re not too worried about the smoothness or appearance of your floor, you can get 1/4″ plywood for less than half that price.) Lowe’s (and probably the other hardware/lumber stores) will cut the plywood down to 2×4′ pieces for a very modest fee (first few cuts are free), allowing it to be transported and stored easily.

The main problem with this solution is that bricks are sharp-edged and gritty, and they shed flakes and dust. Our solution was to dust each brick off and wrap it in duct tape. The images below show a quick and efficient way of doing this, using ordinary (1.88″) and extra-wide (2.82″) DuckTape. Here is a breakdown of the estimated cost:

Item	Quantity	Cost Each	Total
Paving bricks	110	$0.50	$55
2′ x 4’x 1/4″ oak plywood	2	$24	$48
Duct Tape, 2.82″ x 60 yd	2	$10	$20
Duct Tape, 1.88″ x 55 yd	2	$7	$14
Grand Total			$137

Here are some photos:

Materials for cleaning/wrapping brick	Wrap edge with extra-wide duct tape	Cut tape with single-edge blade
Stand brick on end	Fold in edges	Lay flat to fold in other side
4 normal-width pieces cover sides	A finished brick	The robot maze