Design & Development of a gripper to pick multi-shaped objects efficiently

日期 : Jan 2016 - Apr 2017

A robot is a machine that can perform a complex series of actions automatically, especially one programmable by a computer. A robotic gripper is an essential component of a robotic manipulator and a mobile robot in which gripping is required. There are different types of robotic gripper. Currently most of the grippers used in the industry are tailored to grasp specific objects and cannot grasp anything outside the predefined boundaries efficiently. Another important consideration is that there are some grippers that possess the sensing ability but these grippers are very much expensive. Primary objective of this project is design and development of a robotic gripper. Different materials can be used to develop a robotic gripper. Among various materials, ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) has been selected. In order to achieve the objective, a mechanical gripper with three fingers acting as angular jaws has been selected. For touch detection, resistance based touch sensor has been used. This sensor is used because other than that it fulfills the requirement; its handling is easy, it is less expensive and readily available. For distance measuring, IR (infrared rays) based sensor has been used because not that it fulfills the requirement; its handling is easy, it is less expensive and readily available. Arduino Uno, a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P has been used as control unit. Although there are many types of D.C motors, encoded geared D.C motor has been used because it is an actuator that allows for precise control of angular or linear position, velocity and acceleration and best fulfills the requirements.