Autonomous One-Inch Robot Arm Prototype (Littlefinger)

Abstract

The one-inch robot arm prototype can autonomously lift and lower items at a millimeter scale. The robot uses an Arduino-based controls system and a camera to identify a colored target on its tabletop surface, pick it up, and relocate it to the user’s desired position. The name One-Inch Robot is derived from the volume of the retracted robot, which occupies less than one cubic inch in total. The robot is relatively low cost to manufacture, as it was built from off-the-shelf motors, as well as from components which were 3D printed, laser-cut and CNC-ed. The one-inch, affordable robot arm has the potential to be widely accessible for hobby engineers and it also has implications for autonomously controlled, small-scale manufacturing and medical procedures. This project is a continuation off of previous Senior Theses in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton University.