Safety and Feedback for a Robotic Arm for Visually Impaired People

Abstract

This project utilizes a robotic arm, that implements voice control to operate with the goal of aiding visually impaired people in retrieving objects from a rotating tray, improving on its design by implementing safety and feedback features. Ultrasonic sensors are implemented for the safety aspect of the robot arm by measuring distance and avoiding obstacles during movement of the device. Feedback is implemented by reading the output of a weight sensor and using this information to inform whether an object has been delivered successfully to the user or not. Safety sensors were tested by their accuracy in properly avoiding collision with an obstacle, and the weight sensor was tested by measuring its efficiency in serving as a feedback system for this device. The main objective of this project was to allow users of the robotic arm to do so in a safe manner and to improve the accuracy of the device in its task fulfillment.