Wirelessly Operated Programmable Robot

This instructable was created in fulfillment of the project requirement of the Makecourse at the University of South Florida (www.makecourse.com). For my awesome semester project I decided to build a talking wirelessly operated programmable robotic arm using an Arduino Uno microcontroller and a Bluetooth app on my Android phone to controller it. This instructable will provide a list of parts and a walkthrough of it construction.

Step 1: Components Needed

3D Printed Parts:

Enclosure lid

Enclosure lid insert

Step motor holder

Servo holder mast extension

Mast extension base

Servo holder first arm extension

Servo arm second extension

Servo holder pincher

Drive pincher

Slave pincher

Electrical:

1 Arduino Mega

1 Arduino Motor Shield

http://arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoMotorShieldR3

1 Bluetooth receiver

http://www.dx.com/p/jy-mcu-arduino-bluetooth-wirel...

EMIC text to speech module

http://www.robotshop.com/en/parallax-emic-2-text-s...

1 Breadboard

1 USB Cable

1 Stepper Motor

4 Servo motors

Jumper wires

Android phone

Other components:

Electronics Enclosure

http://www.polycase.com/dc-47p

Rubber bands

Software:

BlueStick Control (Android app)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com....

Arduino IDE

AutoDesk Inventor

Step 2: 3D Printed Parts

As can be seen in the pictures, several parts were created using a 3D printer. The zip file contains all the parts files needed to 3D print this project. The part can be printed in any color desired.

Step 3: ​Electrical Components

The schematic shows how the electrical components are wired together including the pin connections to the Arduino. Since the Fritzing library does not have the EMIC text to speech module I used a generic break out board in its place. This shows the wiring connections to help you with your hookup.

Step 4: Arduino Code

Next we will talk about the Arduino code. This is needed to control the electrical components. In order for the project to operate we need to load the code onto the Arduino. The attached zip file titled Arduino Code contains the folder with the Arduino sketch needed. Download the file to yor computer, unzip it and flash it to your Arduino.

The code uses the Step.h library which is already included in the Arduino IDE. All other functionality i wrote. The video will provide a more indepth understand of the code.

You will also need to load the BlueStick Control app onto your Android phone. This can be obtained at the link provided in the parts list.

Step 5: Assembly

After the circuit has been built and the Arduino has been loaded with the code, the next thing to do is to assemble the robot. To help with this several pictures have been included to provide an understanding of what goes where.

Step 6: Assembled Demo

Here you can see the assembled project demonstrating it functionality.

Step 7: Parting Thoughts

This was a fun and informative project and process to experience. If you go to USF or if your college or university offers a similar course i encourage you to take it.

If you decide to build my robot arm have fun with it and feel free to make any modifications you feel the need to implement. Let me know how is goes.