DIY Robotic arm using Grasshopper
Can Grasshopper3d and Arduino be used to prototype a functional robotic arm?
TAGS: Robot, Frugal, Grasshopper3D, Prototype, Parametric
What is it about?
The motive was to build and code a low-cost DIY Robotic Arm just with the use of Arduino inside Grasshopper 3D.
The Challenge
The challenge faced mainly was to build a robotic arm using locally sourced materials. The idea was to minimize the overall cost for assembly for it’s use in the Indian context.
The Solution
The aim was to develop an open source robotic arm that can be manufactured or DIYed with as little as a 10-20k budget, with the Indian AEC context in mind.
- We have developed a script to help fabricate optimized members for a robotic arm using low cost materials like acrylic and mdf with laser cutting.
- I have scripted an arduino mega to work with 6-8 stepper motors simultaneously
- We have written a simple c# script for calculating inverse kinematics of an n-member arm given it’s target point.
- The aim was to develop an open source robotic arm that can be manufactured or DIYed with as little as a 10-20k budget, with the Indian AEC context in mind.
The applications are extensive for the Indian AEC. This can be a project that might act as a platform on which such researches like the application of robotics in the Indian market might develop.
Although the entire setup was far from accurate, to have built the setup from locally sourced materials and without any formal training in the subject is an achievement in itself.
Implementation
The project was executed using an Arduino Uno, two servo motors, a PC and recycled acrylic for the members /segments and the base of the arm. Certain Technical details of the project and its implementation are:
- The entire setup was wrapped up with electrical tape. The arduino and the servo motors were wired.
- Development of the project applies concepts of Inverse Kinematics. A custom C# script within Grasshopper 3D controls the arm through the Firefly plugin.
- Angle at which the members / segments of the arm turn at any given point of the time is measured and remapped to the adjusted angles for rotating the servo motors to the current position.
- Finally, a curve for the path that the robotic arm had to follow was defined in the script and a slider was added to move the arm along that path.