Introduction to Robotics: 5-DoF Robot Arm

Introduction to Robotics opened the fascinating world of robotics for me. I studied dynamics and kinematics of robot arms in the course, including the DH-table, F.K. and I.K., and trajectory planning. Not only I learned the theories written in books but applied them to a real application as well.

For the final project, I led the team to build a 5-DoF robot arm to grab designated objects. I constructed the arm mechanism and figured out the connection between MATLAB and Arduino on my own. Plus, by simulating the robot arm with the Robotics Toolbox in MATLAB, we visualized and made sure the whole trajectory runs as planned.

• Constructed our own 5-DOF robot arm

We modified the open-source robot model on the Internet, utilizing the laser-cutting machine and 3D printer to make components, and assembled a small 5-DOF robot arm.

• Applied MATLAB Robotic Toolbox to plan the trajectory of the arm

We measured the size of the robot arm and input it into MATLAB. With the help of the DH table theory and the robotic toolbox, we modeled the arm in MATLAB and planed a trajectory to grip a designated object.

• Integrated Arduino Uno board with MATLAB to control the robot arm

Besides the Robotic Toolbox, there is also an Arduino Toolbox in MATLAB. It could connected the UNO board to MATLAB in the computer. By doing so, we could do the complex calculation in the computer and then send simple command to the Arduino to run the robot. It significantly increased the efficiency for the project and made the motion of the arm more smoother.

• Our Testing Video XD

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/e3e160_1a81ee7985fb49e78cd7d71ea00152fc/720p/mp4/file.mp4