What better way to spend this weekend than building a robot? BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics and Mechanics) is a DIY robot movement that’s less Robot Wars, more insect-like bots made from old Walkman motors.

BEAM was pioneered by British-born physicist Mark Tilden, who went on to create the hugely popular Robosapiens toys using BEAM principles. His designs are minimalist in robot terms because they rely on simple mechanics, rather than complicated computer brains. However, they still involve a lot of soldering and a working knowledge of resistors.

But Bristlebots are simple enough even for me. Crack open an old mobile phone to find the little vibrator motor, tape it to the top of a toothbrush head, add a watch battery, and the little thing will zoom off across the tabletop. It’s like a pet cockroach, but cute. If you’re planning to build your own, you’ll need a toothbrush with slanted bristles and a set of Torx screwdrivers for the Nokia.

The Bristlebot was invented by the people behind a blog called Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories. Its instructional video has been watched 1.5 million times on YouTube. You can find Bristlebot parts and kits on eBay (there aren't any kits on eBay at the time of writing, but they pop up sometimes).

Evil Mad Scientist's bristlebot video has inspired makers all over the world, adapting their ideas. They've built giant bristlebots that could sweep the floor, and even outdoor petrol-powered bristlebots. The photo sharing site Flickr is full of great-looking bristlebots.

If you're inspired by bristle building, companies like Total Robotics sell a huge range of BEAM kits, and the web is full of sites which will tell you how to do things like turning an old computer mouse into a little running robot.

My own bristlebot? It worked OK, with little wire arms to stop it falling over. It buzzed along and zoomed round in circles. My four year-old son took it to a friend's house, where it impressed a Dad and came back in very small pieces...

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