Hi!
I am looking to build a robotic feeding machine for my son with Cerebral Palsy. Northwestern students post complete instructions on how to do this but they used the M100RAK V3. This is not currently in stock. Is there a comparable robotic arm to this? Very little weight lifting, but I know almost nothing about robotics…I am just trying to help my son because the commercial feeding machines cost abut $10,000.
Thank you so much in advance for your help!
The M100RAK is one of the most affordable arms in that reach / payload range. The lower accuracy is not a factor when used for that application. However, there are alternatives:
This uses the AL5D from Lynxmotion:
Note that this includes a wrist rotate which you don’t really need, so you might consider this instead:
The other difference is that it does not come assembled.
The next generation of the AL5D was just released:
As you might suspect, there will be some work needed on your part to get it all set up correctly, including keeping the bowl in place and at the right location - finding the right style of bowl (or even creating a custom bowl), the feeding “procedure” etc.
There are of course other arms available on the market:
https://www.robotshop.com/en/robotic-arms.html
Ex: https://www.robotshop.com/en/niryo-one-six-axis-educational-robot-arm.html
The main reason there are not many robot arms used for feeding are the requirements for certification as a medical device, and the potential liability the company faces should something go wrong.
