Hey Guys, I am Nuts and Bolts. I made a Project; I call it as an Animatronic Hand. Animatronics is the cross between the animation and the electronics. Basically, Animatronics is the mechanized puppet. It can be remotely controlled or preprogrammed. Animatronics refers to the use of robotic devices to emulate a human or an animal, or bring lifelike characteristics to an otherwise inanimate object. This is a technique of making and operating lifelike robots, typically for use in film or other entertainment. Animatronics is a multi-disciplinary field which integrates anatomy, robots, mechatronics, and puppetry resulting in lifelike animation.

In this work, the Mechatronic based Animatronic Hand is controlled by the position data taken from the Glove. Usually people use Flex Sensors for this project but I have used Potentiometers. So, Potentiometers are mounted on the Glove to capture finger bending of the Human Hand. The Angular Movement of human hand's fingers are perceived and processed by a Microcontroller, and the Robotic Hand is controlled by actuating Servo Motors. It has seen that robotic hand can simulate the movement of the human hand that put on the glove. This robotic hand can be used not only in automation, but also handling operations in dangerous environment for people. I wanted to create a hand which could have many advantages like-

1. It can be used as a powerful aid for the physically challenged.

2. Can be used for diffusion of Bombs where there is a high risk of lives.

3. Can be used in space for repairs of space station.

4. It’s a research project for the humanoid robotic.

5. Can also be used for household applications.

6. Can be used in the Fields of Medical, Defence and Chemicals.

Step 1: Materials and Hardwares Used

TRASH TO TREASURE!!

Potentiometers
Arduino
Jumper wires
Breadboard
Servo motors
Glove
A piece of Wood (to make the Arm and Palm)
A Flexible Pipe(to make fingers)
Nylon Strings
Hot Glue Gun
ScrewDriver

*You can also use a Plastic Bottle to cover the Servo Motors

Step 2: Apps and Online Services Used : Arduino

Step 3: Building the Robotic Hand

Grab some Servos, Potentiometers, Arduino, etc. and group them together to make something Great. Power the Arduino to make sure that it is working properly. Shape the Fingers, I used Wooden Fingers. Make five such fingers (Four Fingers and One Thumb). Attach the Fingers to the Palm. I used Hinges to make the joints of Fingers and also to join it with the Palm. Now, put the servos on the hand by just pasting them on the Hand. Five Servos for Five Fingers. Attach the Servos with fingers with the help of nylon strings, So that when the servos are rotated , the fingers get bend. There are three wires coming out of the servos. The black wire is the ground, the red wire is the power (positive) and the white wire (sometimes yellow, depending on the servo) is the signal wire. The signal wire is used to send the control signal to the servo. All three wires run together into a single, standard hobby servo connector. You can see the connection in the Diagram.

Potentiometers

The measuring instrument called a potentiometer is essentially a voltage divider used for measuring electric potential (voltage); the component is an implementation of the same principle, hence its name. Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on audio equipment.

Step 4: Mounting the Potentiometers on Glove

After joining the Connections as in the Diagram in the previous Step, Mount the Potentiometers on the Glove, So that when we bend our fingers, the knob of the potentiometers gets rotated and it's value changes. You can connect the Arduino with your Mac or PC and check the values of potentiometers. To do this, open arduino IDE and Upload the AnalogReadSerial code in your Arduino. After that, open the Serial Monitor.Now, You can see its Values. Accordingly, Adjust the Values of the Potentiometers, so that the rest position of your finger matches the position of your robotic hand's finger and vice-versa. Mount the potentiometers according to the Image given above.

*I Changed the Fingers afterwards because the wooden fingers were so heavy that the servos were not able to bear its weight . So I chose lighter fingers made of a flexible pipe.