Design and fabrication of smart robots

Abstract

This paper elaborates on the hardware and software realization of a unique bi-modal robot developed for vigilance applications such as; aerial and ground navigation, dual arm manipulation and surveillance. One of the fundamental objectives was to build a lightweight ground unit which when attached to the flight unit, can be lifted easily during aerial mobility. The paper also reviews a mathematical model to determine the parameters of the flight unit for achieving the required payload-to-weight ratio for a stable flight with the attached ground unit. Another significant goal was to control the robot wirelessly through a customized mobile application, making the control suitable for the layman. Besides, to ensure the safety of the robot during takeoff, landing or crash landing, a safe landing mechanism is presented in this paper. The fabricated smart robot can fly with a payload of 3.6kg and its dual arms can lift a load of 0.45kg by employing micro-controllers and an onboard mini personal computer.