Autonomous Robotic Manipulator

Team ARM - University of Massachusetts Lowell

Philip Colangelo, ZiChang Ruan, Allen Antony

Outline

● The Problem

● The Solution – Our Goal Design

● Current Progress

● Key Features

● Performance Measures

● Timeline/Budget

● Next Steps

Problem

● Our focus

– People who rely on a feeding staff

● In home, school, hospital, etc.

● Need

– Inhibiting situations

● Illness, cognitive challenges, paralysis, gross motor

control, etc.

– “785 million people have a physical and or mental

disability” [1].

Outline

● The Problem

● The Solution – Our Goal Design

● Current Progress

● Key Features

● Performance Measures

● Timeline/Budget

● Next Steps

Solution

● A feeding device that can be controlled by

someone who cannot feed themselves.

– Robotic Feeding Arm

● Benefits from solution

– Independence for users to feed themselves.

– Improved quality of life

– Frees up staff

Outline

● The Problem

● The Solution – Our Goal Design

● Current Progress – what we have done.

● Key Features

● Performance Measures

● Timeline/Budget

● Next Steps

Current Progress – Robot Arm

● Schematic

– Links

– Joint angles

– Joint positions

– 4 DOF

– |λθθθ|

Initial Robot Arm Schematic

Current Progress – Robot Arm

Solid Works Prototype

Current Progress – Robot Arm

● Link Lengths

– Ratios:

● L1: 1

● L2: 1/1.618

● L3: 1/3.236

– Desired Length

● With L1 = 13” ARM can reach up to 18.88”

Current Progress – Robot Arm

● Motors

– 5 DC Servo Motors

● λ1+θ1: SPG785A and Top Mount (7:1)

● θ2: HS-805BB Mega Power Servo

● θ3: HS-322HD Standard Deluxe Servo

● Bowl: HS-1425CR (Continuous Rotation) Servo

SPG785A Top Mount [2] HS-805BB [3]

Current Progress - Sensors

● Proximity Infrared Sensors

– Obstacle avoidance

– Sharp GP2D120XJ00F

● Range: 3cm to 30cm

● Analog output Sharp Proximity Sensor [4].

Current Progress - Control

● Microprocessor

– 5 ADC pins for proximity sensors

– 5 16-bit Timer registers for PWM output

● PWM 16 bit resolution

– DIP package

● PIC32MX series

● PIC24FJ series

Microprocessor 40-DIP package [5].

Current Progress – Prototype

Current Progress – Program Flow

Outline

● The Problem

● The Solution – Our Goal Design

● Current Progress

● Key Features

● Performance Measures

● Timeline/Budget

● Next Steps

Key Features – Safety

● RFID

– Device will only work when in range

– Safety shut off when no tag is read

● Panic Button

– In case of an emergency user can override device

to shut down and call for help.

Key Features – Kinematics

● Inverse Kinematics (IK)

– Location

● Pin point desired location

● Feedback from camera will

update end effector to meet

user

– Obstacle avoidance

● IK's allows for remapping

Key Features – User Interface

● Push Button

– For users with gross motor skills

– 2 buttons

● Bowl motor

● Food present and return

● Facial Recognition

- Various facial movements to trigger device

- Arm can meet user position

Key Features – User Interface

● Open Source Computer Vision

– Facial recognition

– Head movement

[6]

What Sets our Design Apart

● Cost Effective

– Manufacturing could make affordable for in home

use.

● Smart Design

– Small learning curve

– Simple design keeps costs low

● Easy maintenance

● Small footprint

● Grand potential

Outline

● The Problem

● The Solution – Our Goal Design

● Current Progress

● Key Features

● Performance Measures

● Timeline/Budget

● Next Steps

Performance Measures

Category Measurement Description

User Interaction

Push Buttons for arm control Human interaction The push button interface will be a success if the robot can be triggered by different types of users.

Head Movement Human interaction The head movement interface will be a success if the robot can be triggered by sideways head movement of different users.

Facial Features Human interaction The facial features interface will be a success if the robot can be triggered by facial expressions of different users.

Movement Efficiency

Obstacle Avoidance Path of Motion Observation of arms behavior given an obstacle in test environment.

Food Spillage Waste Performance of the arms ability to provide a smooth path for the food to travel, any spillage from spoon will be unsuccessful.

Repeatability Number of Completions 10 successful food deliveries will be a success.

Outline

● The Problem

● The Solution – Our Goal Design

● Current Progress

● Key Features

● Performance Measures

● Timeline/Budget

● Next Steps

Timeline - Milestones

Milestone Range

Design December – January

Prototype January – February

Debug/Redesign February

Build March

Debug March

Finalize April

Timeline - Detailed

Pick out RFID system Jan 28 Place bulk order

continue developing openCV software Feb. 4

Build prototype ARM Feb. 11 Code IKS, PIR sensors

Debug ARM mechanics and sensors Feb. 18 continue developing openCV software

Research for new ways to improve the design Feb 25 Design Electronic Schematic

Design PCB Mar. 4 Mar. 7th 1hr online info sessions for finalist begins

Optimize/Redesign PCB – Order Mar. 11 Test Open CV software

Solder PCB Mar. 18 Implement Open CV software with ARM

Test ARM Mar. 25 Test with RFID

Build housing unit Apr. 1

Test and Debug ARM Apr. 8

Apr. 15 Apr. 22nd Final Report Due

Continue test and debug Apr. 22 Apr. 25th 1hr online info sessions ends

Finalize Apr. 29

May 1 Flight to Disney World !!!

Budget

● Given $2500 for project development and travel

– Our current design is high-averaging around $1000

for parts.

Outline

● The Problem

● The Solution – Our Goal Design

● Current Progress

● Key Features

● Performance Measures

● Timeline/Budget

● Next Steps

Next Steps● Code

– Inverse kinematics

– Obstacle avoidance

– Computer Vision

● Electronics

– Finalize schematic

– Design PCB for control circuit

● Base

– Design housing (pending on Atom)

References

[1] Report: 15 percent of world population is disabled. [Online]. Available:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/report-15-percent-of-world-population-is-

disabled/2011/06/09/AGZcqBNH_story.html

[2] SPG785A Top Mount. [Online] Available:

http://www.servocity.com/html/spg785a_top_mount.html

[3] HS-805BB Giant Scale Servo Motor. [Online] Available:

http://www.robotshop.com/hitec-hs805BB-servo-motor.html

[4] Infrared Proximity Sensor Short Range - Sharp GP2D120XJ00F. [Online]. Available:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8959

[5] PIC Microcontroller. [Online]. Available:

http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Microchip%20Tech%20Photos/PIC18LF44K22-

I%5EP.jpg

[6] OpenCV. [Online]. Available: http://opencv.org/wp-

content/themes/opencv/images/logo.png