View VisionArm^™ video: Arm reach

Early Application Development with the VisionArm^™

Current applications that are actively being pursued by Smart Robots users are in the areas of

• Commercial and Light Industrial Applications  At least one of our current users is developing a junior version of today’s industrial Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGVs), but which is intended to transfer smaller loads (tools, parts, materials, finished goods) around the plant floor and from workstation to workstation. With the VisionArm^™ added to the SR4 Mobile Robot or your own mobile platform, the potential for autonomous pickup and off-loading of items is greatly expanded over AGVs that are not arm-equipped.
   
• Office and Home Applications  The office application is fast on its way to becoming the first commercial application of the SR4 Mobile Robot. With the VisionArm^™ added to the robot, the applications of such a device in the office multiply. Such devices in the home will not be far behind the adoption of smart robots in the office.
   
• Applications for People with Disabilities  These are among the most natural early applications of mobile robots with arms. Up to now, the price of mobile robots capable of serving as serious assistive devices has been a barrier for people who might otherwise wish to acquire the modest level of independence that a mobile robot under their command can provide. Take a look at the video of an early prototype of a desktop arm (12 MB) (60 MB) that was developed some time ago under the direction of Smart Robots CEO, Joe Bosworth. The adaptive computer (PC) control capability that provides a wide variety of techniques for people with disabilities to operate PCs has existed from the days of the Apple II computer and the first IBM PC (see Adaptive Technologies). The adaptive PC, linked with a wireless SR4 Mobile Robot equipped with a VisionArm^™ and a wireless web-camera, immediately expands the potential activities available to people with disabilities, first as direct-controlled devices and eventually as semi-autonomous and autonomous devices, as well.

For more general questions or inquiries regarding the VisionArm^™ you are invited to message us at visionarm@smartrobots.com.

Partners Wanted

Smart Robots is actively seeking business, technical and non-profit organizations as partners to assist and/or join us in the development and testing of applications, as well as in additional market development, of the VisionArm^™. We are particularly interested in commercial and light industrial applications, but also in furthering uses of the arm as an aide to people with special needs. Communicate your interest to us in a message to visionarm@smartrobots.com. We look forward to working with you.

The VisionArm^™ Specification

The specifications for the arm are presented below as three distinct modules that deliver the arm-action, the gripper functionality and the vision-guidance system for the VisionArm^™.

Robot Arm

N	Attributes	Specification
1	Joints	Shoulder, elbow, wrist
2	Degrees of freedom (6)	Shoulder joint (two motors below shoulder joint (2); move upper arm up/down and rotation on axis 359 degrees, elbow joint (one motor in upper arm) (1); forearm up/down, wrist joint (two motors in forearm) (2); rotate forearm 2nd section 359 degrees and move wrist up/down, gripper actions (two motors in wrist) (1); rotate gripper 360 degrees and (7th motor); open/close gripper
3	Carry weight	Minimum: 5 lbs w/arm fully extended - over and above weight of camera (mounted on gripper or forearm) and the end-effector/gripper itself
4	Reach	58 ½" (just shy of 5 feet) - Shoulder joint to gripper point - extended
5	Speed	Extended arm at wrist joint travels one foot in its arc in - between one to two seconds.
6	Power	Table-top arm powered by 12-volt AC adapter for the arm motors and a 5-volt AC adapter for the electronics. Both adapters are provided. Mobile-platform-mounted arm powered by a 12-volt 24 AHr gel cell battery and a 5-volt battery source. Both batteries provided. See "Power Supply for SR4 mounted arm" below.
7	Mounting on SR4 mobile robot	Available for either standalone use or mounted on a modified SR4 Mobile Robot
8	Control electronics and software	Control electronics and software (APIs) support (1) translations of motions and positioning from simple high-level commands plus (2) pressure-sensor readings and target acquisition coordination.
9	Arm Connectivity	Control electronics and software interfaces via USB with main high level control processor on the SR4 mobile robot, or with an independent PC.
10	Power supply for SR4 mounted arm	The arm motors draw their power from a dedicated 12-volt 24-AHr arm battery on-board the robot. The battery-driven arm achieves three hours or more of continuous operation on a single charge. The arm's control electronics draw their power from a 12-volt 12-AHr electronics battery on-board the SR4 mobile robot.

Manipulator (end effector)

N	Attributes	Specification
1	Multi-point gripper	Gripper has two points of contact with objects it is manipulating.
2	Maximum width of 4 ¼" grip	Able to handle objects up to 4 ¼" width.
3	Pressure sensitive contact point surfaces	Contact points can be instrumented to detect range of pressure, enabling tracking of first contact through lifting and holding pressure measurement.

Line/Shape Vision (Experimental add-on)

N	Attributes	Specification
1	Camera	A black and white battery-powered camera for distinguishing lines and shapes, mounted on the forearm or the gripper on the robot VisionArm™.
2	Control electronics and software	Vision line and shape detection and recognition capability sufficient to support autonomous arm and manipulator target acquisition operations. Software operates from a library of known shapes and/or domains stored on the robot.
3	Connectivity	Control electronics and software interfaces with main high level control processor on the SR4 mobile robot via USB.
4	Power supply	Control electronics and camera draw their power requirements from a 12-volt 12-AHr electronics battery on-board the SR4 mobile robot.

Test and Demonstration Routines (Controlled via remote video control and available for the VisionArm^™)

N	Routine	Description
1	Distinguish and move; a cup	Pick up a cup from among several other pieces and move it 180° to another location.
2	Distinguish and move; a glass	Pick up a glass from among several other pieces and move it 180° to another location.
3	Distinguish and move; a book	Pick up a book from among several other pieces and move it 180° to another location.
4	Move a glass of water without a spill	Pick up a glass 85% full of water and move it 270° to another location without spilling any of the water.
5	Turn a glass upside down	Picks up an empty glass, turn it upside down and place it right back to where it was.
6	Test the arm speed	Extend the arm fully. Move the arm through a sweep of 180°, measuring the time of the sweep, and calculating the speed, per arc-foot, of the sweep.
7	Perform the arm speed test with weight	Perform the arm speed test (extended) with 5 lb of weight held by the gripper.

Reference Projects

(1) Calibration Free Robotics using Intelligent Sensing

http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vision/demos/VisRobotics/demos.html

(2) DLR Lightweight Robot (plus data sheet)

http://www.dlr.de/rm/en/DesktopDefault.aspx/tabid-282/
http://www.dlr.de/rm/en/PortalData/3/Resources//papers/light_weight_robot/dlr-lbriii-eng_homepage.pdf

(3) DLR Mechatronics

http://www.dlr.de/rm/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-231/

(4) DLR Robot Vision

http://www.dlr.de/rm/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-276/

(5) The Computer Vision Homepage of Carnegie Mellon University

http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~cil/vision.html