Three Dimensional Robotic Lifter Using Gesture Controlled Glove

The 3-d gesture-controlled robot will use the mechanism of CNC machine for motion in all three dimensions. A mechanical structure that allows movement in x and y-directions will be attached to the ceiling, and a cable hanging in the z-direction will be responsible for movement in z-direction. A

Project Title

Three Dimensional Robotic Lifter Using Gesture Controlled Glove

Project Area of Specialization

Robotics

Project Summary

The 3-d gesture-controlled robot will use the mechanism of CNC machine for motion in all three dimensions. A mechanical structure that allows movement in x and y-directions will be attached to the ceiling, and a cable hanging in the z-direction will be responsible for movement in z-direction. A gripper shall be attached at the end of the cable to function as end effector that lifts weights. This mechanism can be designed such that minimum time will be spent moving a weight from one corner of the warehouse to another. Clutter on the floor-space by heavy machinery and chaos created by various movements of lifter machines can also be avoided effectively. By using this mechanism of motion, all coordinates of the room can be accessed. This will help improve overall performance in terms of time, space and hence money. 

Raspberry Pi will be used as a micro-controller to run the lifter. An LCD screen with a user-friendly GUI will help even a layman to understand the functioning. In fact, the whole idea is to keep the technology simple enough for a non-expert to be able to operate lifters instead of only qualified operators. This LCD display will enable the user to view current x-y-z coordinates as well as live feedback from webcam conveying the exact position of the gripper. It will also display distance of gripper from the floor along with a value in percentage showing how much the gripper is opened or closed.

The controller glove will be loaded with all the sensors and micro-controller needed to control the mechanical structure. Along with being able to control the movement of the structure using hand gestures, it will also have a few buttons such as the freeze button and reset button to have quick control over the whole mechanism. Push buttons will control the opening and closing of the gripper.

Project Objectives

The purpose of this project is to find options to eliminate these problems and make the lifting procedures at warehouses, garages and factories more efficient, user-friendly and safe for operators. Introduction of gesture control as a method to lift heavy objects is a simple yet sophisticated approach to handle these problems. Gesture control is meant to provide easy and remote operator/machine interaction methods. It is also an attempt to eliminate complex levers used in lifter vehicles and replace them by simple hand gestures.

• Introduce 3D lifting mechanism:

3D lifting mechanism will be the next generation of the lifters used in warehouses. These can use the whole floor space of the warehouse as they won’t be attached to the floor. This can extend the capacity as we don’t need to leave paths for movers. The whole mechanism will be attached to the ceiling and can access all parts of the floor. This mechanism includes rails which will hold the whole assembly, a gripper, a video camera to monitor the position of the lifter and crane to lift the gripper.

• Implement the gesture control glove which is equipped with all the controls of the lifter:

A wireless data glove will be used to control the forward, backward, left and right movement of the lifter. It will use gesture-controlled mechanism. Accelerometer, Wi-Fi transmitter and microcontroller will be mounted on the glove. Additionally, a few buttons may be introduced to control various functionalities such as opening and closing of the end gripper. The basic motivation behind the use of gesture control is to eliminate the use of complicated mechanism and machinery to lift heavy objects and make it as simple as possible.

Project Implementation Method

This project will be an industry-based project which will benefit the controlling part of different complex lifters. Wireless communication, live video feedback and gesture control will be used as main methodologies. Both mechanical and control part will be implemented separately and the final hardware will then be assembled and tuned up. 

This project can be categorized into two main parts: the gesture control part and the hardware part/mechanical structure.

Gesture control will consist of an Arduino nano which is used as a supplementary micro-controller to gather sensor data from accelerometer and gyroscope and transmit wirelessly to the main micro-controller which is Raspberry Pi 3B+. On the glove used for gesture control will be attached sensors such as MPU6050, ADXL337, Wi-Fi Module along with battery and a mechanism for wireless charging. The following buttons will be attached to glove:

• XY button: to lock the position of crane in the z-axis such that now it can only move in the x-y plane.
• Z button: to lock the position of crane in the x-y plane such that now it can only move along the z-axis.
• Home: lifter will be brought back to its pre-defined home location.
• Reset: allows re-calibration of the xyz angles.
• Claw Open: to open the gripper.
• Claw Close: to close the gripper.

The hardware structure will included a mechanical aluminium structure for motion in XY axis which will be controlled by CNC shield and stepper motors. Cable for movement in Z axis will be controlled by servo motors. Gripper will be supported with ultrasomic sensors and camera for live feedback about position and status of gripper. An LCD screen will display a friendly interactive GUI to monitor the status of all sensors and camera,

Benefits of the Project

The applications of this project will mainly focus upon indoor heavy weight lifting such as that in warehouses, factories and garages. As we know a lifter always exists in all those places. Operating, maintaining, repairing and managing the equipment is a hectic task. In order to reduce human effort and man hours we can apply the methodology used in this project. Currently, engineers and technicians are using joysticks or levers but in order to make the whole process safer for operator, it is a viable option to use gesture-controlled glove instead of a joystick.

Using a glove will reduce human effort and save valuable man hours. Moreover, the lifter does not need any complex levers and gear system so maintenance is easy and reduces the space hence saves money. Using the proposed monitor and transmission of signals over Wi-Fi will help the controller lift weights remotely, within the range of Wi-Fi. Using industrial grade highly sensitive sensors will increase the performance.

This project can be scaled down in size for several other applications as well. It can be used in chemical laboratories to mix chemical compounds ensuring safety of the chemist, by ensuring the chemist can handle dangerous chemicals from a safe distance. In this case, the gripper will be replaced by an end effector that best matches this application. Furthermore, attaching a 3-D printer to the mechanical structure will help to make custom 3-D printings or custom CNC machines.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The following components will be a part of the final hardware deliverable:

• Arduino Nano employs sensors including accelerometer and gyroscope to sense hand movements and share this data with main microcontroller Raspberry Pi via wireless communication. Various buttons mounted on the glove for different functionalities are also interfaced on Arduino. Its small size provides a compact form with ease of attachment. It will communicate with Raspberry Pi using UART.
• Accelerometer ADXL337 will be used for safety purposes. If it detects very fast changes in its values due to sudden jerks or the glove falling down it will result in a freeze condition. The lifter will be stopped in its current position and will not move until released from its freeze state.
• MPU6050 will be used as accelerometer and gyroscope to control position of lifter along six axis i.e. up, down, left, right, forward and backward. It will communicate with Arduino using I2C interfacing.
• Wi-Fi Module ESP8266 is a low-cost standalone transceiver which will transmit acquired data from all sensors to Raspberry Pi in order to control CNC drivers. Wi-Fi is preferred over Bluetooth because of its greater range and its immunity to disturbances and noise.
• Buttons used are explained in Implementation Method section.
• Raspberry Pi 3B+ will be our main microcontroller responsible for controlling the position of the lifter from the data acquired via  Arduino over Wi-Fi and guides the lifter to move according to this data via a CNC shield.
• CNC Shield V3 will be used to dictate the motion of the gripper through the Raspberry Pi. It allows easy configuration of parameters of the stepper motors that are used with the lifter to change its location.
• Gripper will be attached at the end of a belt and will hold the object that is to be lifted. A robotic claw with fingers will be used. It provides a firm grip on the object so it will not fall down midway.
• Camera will be interfaced with the Raspberry pi to get visual output and view how far away the object to be lifted is from the gripper. It will also provide feedback path to the user who can control the lifter remotely.
• Ultrasonic Sensor will be used to determine the distance of the gripper from the ground. This will help the user to check that the gripper does not hit the ground.
• A monitor will be interfaced with Raspberry Pi to display the output from the camera. Also, the status of claw will also be displayed on it to show how much the claw is opened. The current xyz coordinates in which the lifter is positioned along with the output from the ultrasonic sensor will also be monitored. The monitor display will allow the user to interactively control the lifter by actually seeing its current position.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Type of Industry

Manufacturing

Technologies

Robotics

Sustainable Development Goals

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com