Robot Design and Development

Explore robotics system categories by work, technology, and motion control approaches, learn key features of industrial robots and grippers, and examine a range of heavy-duty applications.

Explore the history and classification of robots, from automation and hard vs soft automation to mechanical manipulators, assembly lines, and the rise of humanoid and autonomous vehicles.

Explore robot anatomy, its skeleton of bones and joints, the robot arm and end effector, and learn about degrees of freedom, joint types, and electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic actuators.

Explore the seven key industrial robot specifications—degrees of freedom, payload, speed, cycle time, reach, orientation, repeatability and accuracy, and operating environment—and how to select the right robot for manufacturing.

Explore grippers and tools for robot design, including mechanical, vacuum, magnetic, and electrostatic grippers. Learn to select power sources, configurations, and tool changes for reliable grasping and task execution.

Explore industrial and collaborative robots from leading manufacturers like Kuka, Universal Robots, Abb, and Kawasaki, focusing on payload capacities, repeatability, safe human collaboration, and easy deployment.

Explore the framework of industrial robotics, apply design criteria and maintain technical specifications for industrial systems, and preview sophisticated robotics and sensing methods for the upcoming project.

Explore robotics fundamentals and programming in week 2, covering advanced robotics, data applications, and sensors, and discover their significance in modern robot design and development.

Explore robot programming through three methods: offline programming, robotic programming languages, and manual/live programming; learn motion control, input/output, and simulation advantages for cost reduction and faster deployment.

Explore dynamic, multifunctional robots, including humanoids, drones, medical nanosystems, and military applications, and examine uses in search and rescue, space, underwater, agriculture, entertainment, and industry.

Explore how robotics rely on sensors to capture and interpret data, including active vs passive types, transduction principles, and functions like capturing and tracking, collision detection, mapping, localization, and touch.

Explore how sensors, including ultrasonic and infrared, convert environmental factors into analog or digital signals and how scaling turns four-to-twenty milliamp or voltage outputs into meaningful distance or presence measurements.

Explore sensing principles and a range of sensors—from infrared and ultrasonic to temperature and humidity—and learn to select sensors by output type, range, calibration, and cost.

Explore the critical role of sensors and scaling sensor output in robotics engineering as week two concludes, with controllers and actuators coming next.

Explore week 3 introduction as it covers the components and functions of controllers and introduces profitable tasks within robot design and development.

Explore how a microcontroller acts as a robot’s brain by processing sensors and controlling outputs, and examine the UNO board’s ATmega328, RAM, program memory, and analog to digital converter.

Learn pulse width modulation to create analog-like outputs from digital pins by adjusting duty cycle, and compare UART, SPI, and I2C protocols with master/slave layouts, clocks, and baud rates.

Explore how Arduino microcontrollers interface with input and output devices, including push buttons, sensors, relays, motors, and LCD displays, and understand analog versus digital signals.

Learn how servo motors provide precise position control with closed-loop feedback, using potentiometers, gear trains, and PWM duty cycles to regulate speed and angle.

Explore how to design and develop robots by starting from the ground up, focusing on hardware and software selection and development.

Advance from basics of C++ to advanced features and learn to write your own program, building logical knowledge for robot design and development.

Explore the IDE software configuration for Arduino programming, selecting boards, installing libraries, compiling and uploading code, and using Serial Monitor and Serial Plotter to view outputs.

Explore serial functions in robot design and development by writing a program with setup and loop, declaring variables, printing to the serial monitor, and configuring baud rate 9600.

Explore how to use if statements to test conditions, including nested checks, else branches, and logical operators, with relational and arithmetic operators to control flow and temperature alerts.

Learn how while loops control repeated actions through initialization, a condition, and increment, using variables, data types, and operators, with examples like temperature control and brightness adjustments.

Explore how to include external libraries, manage and install libraries, and use serial communication in Arduino projects, including setting baud rates and digital I/O.

Use digital write and analog write to control brightness and motor speed with duty cycles. Read sensors with analog read and push-buttons with digital read, using if statements and delays.

Explore advanced ide functions in Arduino projects, using delay for timing and the map function to scale analog reads, then apply switch-case logic to display messages based on sensor ranges.

Review your understanding of programming to fuel your preparation for next week's program development. Look ahead with excitement as you learn about developing this program.

Explore component selection, circuit connections, and programming as you complete the first and final week of this robotics program.

Learn to design and program a six-axis robotic arm, select motors, implement feedback, design the frame for payload, and integrate with a controller using 3d-printed, open-source parts.

Design and program a robotic arm by selecting suitable motors, wiring three motors to an Arduino board, and implementing PWM-based speed control, external power, and point-to-point positioning.

Learn how to initialize six servo motors, connect libraries, define home positions, and configure pins for robot design and development, with safe speed control and position scheduling.

Learn to configure servos with a library, declare joint angles and home positions, and control six joints via external devices using Bluetooth, reading current positions and adjusting with conditional loops.

Learn to control a robotic arm using six potentiometers as external inputs, reading analog values, mapping 0–1023 to 0–180 degrees, and driving joints through a complete control code.

Implement intensive programming for a sexist robot arm to improve practice, align servers and positions for survivors on critical tasks, and finalize the solo major project that concludes our development.