Design and Control of an Anthropomorphic Robotic Arm

Abstract

In the 21st century, the design and development of robotic arms are being massively researched at the global level. One of the objectives of robotics engineering is to design a dexterous robotic arm whilst reducing the weight-to-payload ratio. Therefore, this paper highlights the mechanical design and electrical system concept and development of a 5 DOF robotic arm which is capable of ‘human-like’ behaviors. Hence, these anthropomorphic characteristics are achieved via an ability to control the (i) shoulder (ii) elbow and (iii) wrist joints of the robot. Consequently, the robotic arm is infused with industrial knowledge thus possessing the ability to execute tasks such as the ‘pick-and-place operation’. The development of this robot is based on the Arduino UNO platform which is connected to the PS3-controller to operate the robotic arm wirelessly. The goal of the research is to deliver a robotic arm with minimum weight-to-payload ratio. Therefore, the current research proves that a light weight robotic arm is a viable option to sustain higher amount of payload and determine the robotic arm’s capacity in serving its purpose.