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ABOUT US
GALLERY 2

OVERVIEW

We have designed an autonomous arm capable of detecting and moving to an object within a 48cm radius in the xy-plane. It moves as a multi-linked arm, with each link powered by a servo motor and a pointer on the end. An overhead camera captures both the current arm position and target object position. An Arduino microcontroller controls the servos in a feedback loop to move toward the detected object. The motivation behind this project is to use this as a springboard for other applications down the road, attaching other subsystems to the end of the arm. Some subsystems that come to mind are a hand for transportation of goods, a spotlight for security purposes, or a tranquilizer for animal control. We are confident that there are many applications for a flexible arm that can track movement and that many industries would benefit from such technology.

SERVICES

Photo Gallery

Here you can find pictures of the arm in progress along with other images associated with the arm.

Project Website
 

Functions

Detection

Motion

Intelligence

Feedback control is used to move to and track the object.

Servo motors move arm to object location.

Object detection is acomplished through the use of CMUcam5 PIXY camera.

MEDIA
  • LinkedIn - Grey Circle

Daniel Farbman
 

Ben VanDerHeyden
 

  • LinkedIn - Grey Circle

Steven van Leeuwen
 

  • LinkedIn - Grey Circle

Andy Huang
 

  • LinkedIn - Grey Circle

My name is Daniel Farbman and I am a senior mechanical engineer. My main interest is fluid mechanics and micro-fluid mechanics. To that end, I worked in Lin Lab last semester, which performs research in that field. 

I plan to get my 5th year masters degree at UC Davis to expand my skillset and am actively searching for internship and employment opprotunities. 

Contact:

danielfarbman@outlook.com

Hi, my name is Benjamin VanDerHeyden, and I'm a recent graduate in Mechanical Engineering. 

My focus in college has been thermal fluids and energy, but I was happy to get a taste of mechanical design, control systems, electronics and software in this project. I'm glad I got to work in this team and come up with solutions together and am looking forward to more of the same in working life. I am currently looking for employment in the Bay Area.

benjamin.pierre.vdh@gmail.com 

I'm also a mechanical engineering senior that is graduating this semester. I enjoy working with dynamic systems and control. After working with cars in past projects, our team decided to build something none of us had built before, an inteligent arm. I plan to work in industry before going to graduate school in aerospace engineering. I can be reached at stevencalifornia@hotmail.com

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I'm a recent mechanical engineering graduate from Cal. My interests include controls and dynamics, so this project was right up my alley. I'm currently looking for employment. You can reach me at andy.k.huang@gmail.com

THE TEAM

THE TEAM

ARM VIDEOS & MORE

Improved Tracking

The object is tracked using a proportional control scheme.  This allows the arm to follow more responsively.

Sluggish Tracking

This video shows a work-in-progress tracking action.

OVERVIEW

The following document outlines our design process and other important aspects of our project.

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Arm in its final configuration

 
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