As you may already know, RobotShop offers all Lynxmotion robotic arms & grippers on our online catalog, which are based on the modular servo erector set. So, while you may already have decided that you would like to use a Lynxmotion robotic arm, you may not be sure which kit would best fit your project. This article intends to help you choose the right Lynxmotion robotic arm for your needs.
Could you please tell me where to get a telerobotics kit. I can do what I want with your kits to, to work by remote-control at a job or school lab. I’d appreciate all the advice I can get in these areas from you great people.
Can anybody advise if the new ssc-32U servo controller board can be used with the original LynxmotionRIOS software which does not appear to be available now as an option? I have this software and want to purchase the SSC-32 U but would rather use the RIOS than Flowstone if possible? Thank you. Steve.-Ireland.
@steve clune Yes, RIOS can be used with the new SSC-32U. Note however that RIOS is no longer being supported and is legacy software. Can you indicate what functionality in RIOS you would like which FlowArm or FlowBotics does not offer?
@Niall: We do not have specific figures, but we recently did some tests at full extension (fully horizontal & upwards ~45 degrees) lifting 2 pairs of pliers (total weight of 118.00 g / ~4.16 ounces). It worked ok but expect to move slower than at maximum speed and precision of movement will not be as good. You can lift a bit more the closer you are to the base, of course, probably in the range of 150 g (maybe a bit more). You could probably lift also more without the wrist rotate upgrade (we had the medium wrist rotate upgrade attached during our tests). All in all, we certainly recommend using a 6 V DC supply with at least 3 A capacity if you intend to use weight close to maximum capacity. Also, make sure to not leave the servomotors under such load for long periods of time as they are still just hobbyist-grade RC servomotors and they will eventually overheat if strained for too long (i.e.: give them a break between tasks requiring large loads).
@Dean: Short answer: yes!
Longer answer: While it is possible, this will require some custom code (not trivial) to detect the object reliably and determine its position (and send the arm to it). The complexity of this task will really depend on the constraints you place on the system: ex #1: arms in an assembly line always pick objects from the same spot, only using sensors to determine if the object is there or not; ex #2: a human picks up objects in a somewhat constraint-free system; roughly anything goes and the human adapts to the situation; ex #3: a robotic arm picks up an object in a 2D space (such as a box). The sensor will need a reliable way to obtain a 2D position. Typically, at least 1 sensor is needed per dimension, so one IR would most likely not be enough unless you “scan” the area one “spot” at a time. As you can certainly imagine from these three examples, where and how that autonomous robotic arm will be used really matters a lot to how this will be implemented.
