Development of a 5 DOF manipulator for a mobile Robot

Abstract

Mobile robots, also called rovers, are used in unreal environments such as outer space. They explore places or perform tasks that are life-threatening to humans. The manipulator is a key component of every rover for completing its tasks. With the help of the manipulator soil samples are taken, switches and buttons are activated, cables are plugged in and objects are collected. The manipulator explained in this paper is equipped with a 2-finger parallel gripper, a linear actuator, a camera and a laser. In order to use these tools properly and to successfully complete the aforementioned tasks, the manipulator must exceed a certain benchmark for accuracy and reliability. This paper describes the necessary arm characteristics to accomplish this along with the experiment used to demonstrate that the accuracy and reliability conditions are satisfied.