Automaton Arm Prototyping

Overview

Objectives/Goals Through the creation of each arm prototype, we aim to increase functionality to offer the best product we can. Whether to cater to individuals with disabilities, or just those who want a way to ease the stresses of life, with our arms we want to be able to fit the needs of all. As arms are created to offer solutions to more and more everyday problems, some aspects that will likely see improvement are joint strength, general material strength, portability, and versatility. Methods/Materials Cardboard, popsicle sticks, paper, a glue gun, Arduino circuit boards, breadboards, wires, servos, knobs, a computer/laptop, a 3D printer, and a 3D printer filament spool are needed to recreate the arms, as well as the IDE that comes with Arduino. With each prototype that we built, the number of servos plus quality of the materials used increased, as did the functionality, and code was tweaked. Results With the addition of servos as we went along building more prototypes, our final product functioned somewhat as a human arm would and worked the best out of all the ones that were made. The other prototypes didn't perform as well. Functionality-wise, the first prototype didn't work to serve our purpose of assisting in the home. The second prototype mimicked shoulder, elbow and wrist movements and performed better than the first prototype but still had room for improvement. Conclusions/Discussion From building the prototypes we learned how to wire/write the code for servos and knobs, while also building skills in problem solving, creativity, and teamwork. As each arm was built, it quickly became clear that by bringing them into the home, robotic arms could see uses pertaining to fields other than industrial, medical, or extraterrestrial. Some personal needs include moving objects in the attic or clearing the yard. Most people take those actions for granted, but there are those who aren't capable of doing these activities themselves. Even then, one with the capability to perform those tasks may face difficulties because of diseases like arthritis, something which the arms we built combat.

Competition history

• CSEF 2018 Applied Mechanics & Structures · Entry J0320

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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