Do Robots Sleep? (Understanding Batteries)

When you run around the playground all day, you get tired. You move slower. You might even fall asleep during dinner (oops). You need sleep to recharge your energy. Robots are the exact same way.

Robots “Eat” Electricity

Robots don’t eat sandwiches. They eat Electrons. These electrons are stored inside a battery, like juice in a juice box.

• Full Battery: The robot is fast! It drives zippy and strong.
• Empty Battery: The robot moves slow. Its brain might get confused. Finally, it stops moving entirely. It is “asleep.”

The Recharge Nap

When you plug a robot into the wall, you are refilling its juice box.

• In FIRST LEGO League (FLL), your robot uses a small rechargeable battery pack. It takes about an hour to fill up.
• In FTC (The Big League), our batteries are heavy and yellow. They can run a robot for only 3 minutes of sprinting!

Why Can’t Robots Run Forever?

We haven’t invented a battery that lasts forever yet. Imagine if your juice box had a tiny hole in the bottom. That’s what running a motor does—it drains the juice quickly. Engineers are working hard to make better batteries so robots can work all day without a nap. Maybe one day, you will invent the “Forever Battery”!