Hi
I’m in my final year in college and I’m studying automation. I have to do a final year project this year. I have decided on building a robotic arm with colour sensor to identify coloured blocks and to place them in the correct coloured bins. I was looking for a robot arm kit that would do this job. Have ye anything in stock? I’m hoping to control all this by labview. Can you recommend the parts I need? Also I live in Ireland. Do ye ship to there?
Many thanks
John
AL5D is the first choice which comes to mind:
robotshop.com/eu/en/catalogs … t&dir=desc
Something like this: robotshop.com/eu/en/lynxmoti … m-kit.html
A $10 app is included to get you started, though you’ll need to write your own LabView code.
How much to ship to Ireland?
Also what about the colour sensor?
For shipping, it’s easiest to add the product to your cart, then proceed to checkout; you’ll be prompted to enter you address, at which point you’ll be shown different shipping options.
As for the color sensor, that’s really up to you, and it depends how you want to implement it in LabView. You can get away with something as easy as a webcam attached to the gripper.
Do ye sell the sensors. I was thinking of building a gravity feed column that coloured blocks will sit in. Then the arm will reach and take a block 1 at a time. I was thinking of mounting the sensor in the column so when the block is gravity the sensor automatically sees what colour it is a d the robot arm dispenses to the proper location.
We have a selection of cameras and vision sensors here:
robotshop.com/en/cameras-vision-sensors.html
However, it really comes down to what software you want to implement and how to connect to the camera.
Labview
Correct, as you stated before. The choice is really yours.
You should start experimenting with Labview and a webcam to start tracking colors.
Iv discussed this with my teacher, and we have decided that i am going to buy the robot and build and design my own PIC micro controller, could you recommend components for this. also i am now thinking that a webcam attached to the end of the robot arm would be the best choice as a sensor has already been done. we will be writing the code in flow code, dont know if you seen that before or not. anyway could you help me out in the parts i need as i am new to all this and would like to have the correct parts when ordering.
thanks
If you are planning to create your own microcontroller, it depends on what level you want to go to- creating a schematic, then a PCB and choosing components?
That’s quite involved on its own, plus you’ll need to write firmware and the code to communicate with the board.
We sell PICAXE products (including chips) here: robotshop.com/en/revolution- … on-en.html
We are aware of the program FlowCode, but do not support it. Instead we offer FlowBotics Studio: flowbotics.com/
Well i am using ultiboard to create and design the board, but i do not know what chip to pick or components for that matter, i have no problem designing building and soldering the micro controller together as i have done this in previous experiments and it worked, i just need to know what parts to buy to make my idea work. i know thats asking alot but i want to only have to build this once and to have it work as i am sure you send yere pars from the states i could be waiting weeks to receive the arm, and i need to get sorted straight away, also can i have the camera search for coloured blocks and pick a block at random and put the proper block in correct bin, can this be done?
Designing a servo / micro controller is a bit beyond the support we provide here. There are products which do require some soldering, though that does not seem sufficient for your objectives.
As for the capabilities, that again depends on your skills and the program you use. The hardware can certainly pick up a block, and it’s up to you to choose a vision software which can distinguish colors, locate them, and (somehow) send the right signals to the arm to have it pick up the object.
well the 2 programmes that i have access to through the college is labview and flowcode so unfortunately i need to use them. i will use ultiboard for designing the pic on the micro-controller, just need to know what to buy regarding, the vision system and also what components i need to build the micro controller. as i said before i am goint to build it using a PIC. ill design that myself jus need to know what i will need to have to build the micro controller. do ye sell a webcam/ vision system for the end of the arm? sorry about all the questions but you are great help
do ye sell the arm with jus the servo motors nothing else? all i need after hat is the vision system/camera and the micro controller yes? ill write my own code and develop and design the micro controller myself. will the arm work on the 2 programms mentioned previous
Unfortunately we do not offer components needed to design a breakout board for a microcontroller - we only offer a few chips. The design of this is really up to you, and it’s a respectable project on its own.
We do sell the AL5D without electronics here: robotshop.com/en/lynxmotion- … 4-dof.html
There is no specific vision system or connector for the end of the arm - you would need to choose a camera and design an adapter / mount.
