Multifunctional Supernumerary robotic arms for industrial application

The aim of this project is to design and develop a pair of wearable supernumerary robotic arms to be used for industrial applications. The robotic arms would be worn on the back of the user with the help of shoulder straps. To provide additional support these arms would have an extension touching th

Project Title

Multifunctional Supernumerary robotic arms for industrial application

Project Area of Specialization

Mechanical Engineering

Project Summary

The aim of this project is to design and develop a pair of wearable supernumerary robotic arms to be used for industrial applications. The robotic arms would be worn on the back of the user with the help of shoulder straps. To provide additional support these arms would have an extension touching the ground via wheels to provide support when lifting loads while maintaining mobility. The target is for these arms to be able to lift loads up to 100 kg. These robotic arms would greatly enhance the load lifting capability of workers in a factory thus increasing the overall work rate and efficiency. It would reduce the requirement of heavy machineries such as cranes and forklifts. One of the primary focus is on making it’s control easy to adapt and learn. For this we would most likely be using motion detection technology or EMG sensors (yet to be decided) to trace the motion of the user’s own arms to control the robotic arms. This would make it’s control both easy and natural. 

Project Objectives

The objective as stated above is to increase the load lifting capacity of an individual worker. This would also reduce the stress on the laborer by transferring the load from his body to the ground via the robotic arms thus saving them from a number of musco-skeletal disease that many manual laborers suffer from. This would not only benefit individual workers but it would increase the work rate and efficiency of a factory.

Project Implementation Method

The potential customers of this project are industrial setups, factories and warehouses. This poses certain challenges in it’s implementation such as conforming to the strict safety regulations of such entities but the potential for growth and profit is just as much. In order to implement this project we would have to work hand in glove with the heavy industry sector of Pakistan, working on their feedback and meeting their required specifications. The industry liaison office of NUST would be used as the stepping stone for this project’s implementation.

Benefits of the Project

The benefit of this project as stated above is to increase the load lifting capacity of an individual worker. This would also reduce the stress on the laborer by transferring the load from his body to the ground via the robotic arms thus saving them from a number of musco-skeletal disease that many manual laborers suffer from. This would not only benefit individual workers but it would increase the work rate and efficiency of a factory because it would mitigate the need for heavy machines such as forklifts and cranes. It is a new and innovative technique to handle heavy loads and it's implemetation while challenging has huge potential. 

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The robotic arms have six degree of freedoms each, providing a very versatile range of motions to better shadow the movements of the user’s own arms. The arms are motor driven that are geared down to provide large magnitude torques for better load lifting capacity. The motors are powered with the help of LiPo batteries. The controller for this assembly is Raspberry Pi (yet to be decided) . Motion detection technology/EMG (yet to be decided) will be used to detect the movements and position of the user’s arms and using the controller these movements would be followed by the robotic arms. The arms themselves would be made of either steel or aluminum to provide a rigid and compact structure. The overall estimated price of the prototype is between 65000 to 75000

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Manufacturing

Other Industries

Core Technology

Wearables and Implantables

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Required Resources

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