Section outline

  • 🧠 What is a Prototype?

    Have you ever made a paper airplane to test how it flies before folding a cooler one? That simple paper plane is actually a prototype!

    💡 What’s a Prototype?

    A prototype is a rough, early version of a product, built to test an idea and see if it works. In robotics, a prototype lets us:

    • 🧪 Test our ideas before spending time and money on building a full robot.
    • 🔧 Make changes early, if something doesn’t work.
    • 🎯 Focus on how the robot will solve a problem, not just how it looks.

    🛠️ Example

    Imagine you want to build a robot that can pick up trash in a park.

    Before using expensive parts, you might:

    • Use paper rolls for arms,
    • A box for the body, and
    • A rubber band or string to simulate grabbing.

    This helps you see:

    • How long the arms should be,
    • How the robot might move,
    • And what might go wrong.

    🛎️ Why Build Prototypes?

    • It’s okay to fail — that's how we learn and improve.
    • You can share ideas with your team easily.
    • It helps your robot go from an idea 💡 to a real invention 🤖.
    💬 “A prototype is not perfect. But it’s your idea in action!”