Hi!
Description:
I came accross the Lynxmotion LSS - 4 DOF arm and was wondering if it would be suitable for a simple cooking task like frying french fries or flipping pancakes
Hardware concerned:
LYNXmotion LSS - 4 DOF
If perhaps you have other suggestions of arms I could use as a prototype for simple cooking procedure I would highly appreciate your feedback as I am currently lost in all the different options
Thank you so much in advance for your help!
@Oghaleb Welcome to the RobotShop Community. Regarding the following arm:
Teams in high schools often make setups to make simple foods using several mechanisms like conveyors, gates and robotic arms (ex. make a sandwich). However, there is never any heat involved like you’d find on a stove.
Ideally both tasks you describe would have the robotic arm itself at a distance (lower the heat), and a custom attachment to perform the task (like a pair of spatulas for the pancake, or a custom holder for the cage for the french fries.
Can you tell us a bit more about the reasoning behind the task? Would this be for commercial use or more as help for someone who is disabled? How much programming are you prepared to do?
I’d reconsider frying french fries with a robotic arm unless you are a very capable engineer already, which doesn’t seem to be the case considering your questions. Also, the safety implications with handling hot oil (or objects covered in it) are just simply too risky for a hobby-grade robotic arm. I strongly recommend simply getting a machine that makes the fries in this case! Less expensive and far less dangerous.
As for flipping pancakes, I guess it would be safe enough if using an electric griddle type of setup. That being said a pancake may be quite heavy so you may need to modify the assembly to add more torque to some of the joints. @cbenson can definitely recommend some ideas there!
Well, some question would need to be asked first to determine your actual needs and @cbenson already asked those:
Thank you so much for your quick replies.
To answer your questions, I would like to start a small business and given corona I had to change my direction a little bit. I need to program a robotic arm prototype that can cook a simple meal/appetizer of my choice so that it I would possibly be able to acquire funding to develop a more complex robotic arm.
This prototype would only be used at my own house and perhaps to showcase it to possible investors when the time comes.
I have studied AI and programming for quite some time so I am quite comfortable programming specially if its in python. I have small theoretical experience in the field of robotics which is why I am looking to buy a robotic arm to use as a prototype and hopefully in the future I could hire an engineer to build one ourselves.
Maybe french fries is a bad idea given that is a bit more complex. The reason I mentioned this is because here in the netherlands there is a famous appetizer called Bitterballen and I thought it would be a good idea to do that if i get a meeting with investors
Hope that helps you (and me!) a little bit
Thanks in advance
Provided you don’t use actual heat, you can use a small desktop arm to go through the motions of preparation to use as a proof of concept for a future product. Normally robotic arms which are used in a kitchen setting (i.e. around humans) need to be “cobot” meaning “cooperative robot” where if a human does something which the robot cannot anticipate, the human won’t be harmed. Normally even small industrial arms need a space where humans are prevented from going.
Regarding the preparation of food, you’ll need to estimate the weight of what the arm will pick up, how far away that weight will be from the base of the arm, and what accuracy you’ll need. You’ll also need to envision how you want the arm and gripper to “flip” the pancake. In terms of kitchen use, these small arms have been used to lift spoons with food for disabled.
The 4DoF arm doesn’t have a wrist rotation by default, though one is underway as you can see here:
To answer your question of “will it work?”, it will depend on how you use it.
All of @cbenson’s points are quite good! I’d maybe also point out this:
If your project eventually is used for food preparation that is sold to others, depending on your location’s governmental regulations (country, region, local, etc.) about food preparation you may need to modify your project to ensure food safety such as special builds (sealed, sleeved, etc.) for the robotic arm(s) for ease of cleaning & preventing food contamination (maybe through pressure washing, so probably something at least IP65 for the entire assembly) and other such type of requirements.
