1. Introduction and Background (ALAG)

When brainstorming a linkage-based project for this class, one idea that we kept coming back to was a robotic arm. Many industry robotic arms are heavy and expensive, requiring actuators at each joint. Although this may be necessary for complex motion profiles, these types of robotic arms are over-specked for more simple use cases. To solve this problem, we set out to develop a robotic arm from a linkage system that can carry out a complex motion from a single input. For example, the arm should be able to rotate analogously to a human shoulder joint, extend through the use of a modified elbow, and grab an object like a hand. Compared to a multi-actuator arm, our mechanism is more cost-effective, robust, and has a planar form factor which allows them to be added in parallel.

One common use of a robotic arm is to move an object between conveyor belts on an assembly line in warehouses. Although conveyor splitters can be used for this application, if the part needs to be lifted and oriented differently during a particular stage of production, a robotic arm can fulfill this requirement, and do so at a less cost than complex, multi-actuator arms. The video below demonstrates various robotic arms in application.