Phone Controlled Robotic Arm
For my project I have built a robotic arm. Where it was challenging in some parts, it was ultimately a useful project that I enjoyed building. This robotic arm contains four servos, which makes up the four joints for it. It can pick up most objects, and be controlled by a phone. The wireless connection is done with a bluetooth module and an application on the phone.
| Engineer | School | Area of Interest | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin | Troy High School | Electrical Engineering | Incoming Junior |
Starter Project
My starter project is a useless machine that turns a switch off if it is turned on. I was able to learn the basics of soldering, as well and how circuits works. I also learned about flip switches and pressure switches, as they are the types of switched used in the machine. The soldering was hard for me at first, but I eventually got used to it.
Final Milestone
My second milestone is the replacement of the robot’s small servos with bigger ones for more strength. The old servos, which had a torque of 2.0 kg/cm, were unable to do some of the tasks expected of a robotic arm, such as to pick up objects. The bigger servos had a torque of 21.5 kg/cm, which is over ten times larger than the smaller ones. This allows the robot arm to pick up objects and move them around. replacing the servos required different parts, because the bigger ones would not fit in the parts designed for smaller servos. I ended up 3D printing new parts that I had designed in Fusion 360.
First Milestone
My first milestone is to finish constructing the physical portion of the robotic arm. This is because this is the part of the robotic arm that will actually be doing what the robotic arm is meant to do. It is important to make sure that all the screws are on tightly, so that they do not fall off when the arm starts moving. It was hard to distinguish the screws from each other at the beginning, but I realized that they each have labels on their bags.
Here is the circuit diagram for my project.
The code for my project can be found in the main branch.