Cardboard Robotic Arm Project Analysis

Cardboard Robotic Arm Project Analysis

I discovered a particular project I was intrigued by on instructables.com for the purpose of this project analysis. This blog post will focus on the Cardboard Robotic Arm project and will discuss it in detail. The project aims to show how one can build an Arduino controlled robotic arm made from cardboard and small servo motors. Once built, all types of code can be used to make it do all sorts of tasks. The instructable included two programmes of code. One makes the arm move to lift a small object and the other takes commands from the user using potentiometers, and moves the arm. The Arduino records this movement and can play it in a loop after. The hardware building instructions were split into three parts including “the claw, the elbow, and the base.” (SouravB22)

            The materials required to build this project include cardboard, 1 clothespin, 3 servo motors, Arduino, and 3 potentiometers. Other tools needed to build the arm itself consist of hot glue, black tape, cello tape, a knife, a ruler, a screwdriver, and pins. The addition of the claw required a strong connection since that part “transmits the torque from the servo to the arm.” (SouravB22) The elbow joint also needed “to be strong to ensure proper power transmission from the base to the elbow.” (SouravB22) Finally, all of the arm’s operations were within the base region. In order to put it all together, the claw piece is attached to the elbow so that the claw touches the base at a 180 degree angle. Then the connecting wires and jumpers are taped to the side of the elbow pillar and all the wires are passed under the base through the hole. Next, a layer of cardboard is attached to the base, ensuring that the wires are hidden and the base servo motor does not touch the ground. The three potentiometers are then connected to the Arduino analog input pins and the code can be put in to make the arm move.

            I believe this would be a very interesting and exciting project to build. It could possibly be built for the final project with enough time and materials. I consider the most challenging part of the project to be the building of the arm. It seems that this project requires the arm to have strong connections and torque throughout, in order to move flexibly and pick up objects. I think it would be difficult to ensure there are no weak spots and that everything is well connected for a proper functioning robotic arm.

Genevieve Bell and Paul Dourish discuss ubiquitous computing in their article Yesterday’s tomorrows: notes on ubiquitous computing’s dominant vision. Ubiquitous computing is the idea of further adding technology into everyday activities and increasing the connection between humans and technology. According to Bell and Dourish, ubiquitous computing "encompasses a wide range of disparate technological areas brought together by a focus upon a common vision" and it is driven by the future’s possibilities rather than the past’s problems. We could already be living in the technological future the field’s pioneers had envisioned. The field has been around for a while and it focuses on anticipating future trends and meeting future needs. (Bell & Dourish) We have already entered a proximate future where certain technologies are becoming common. For example, mobile phones have evolved into smartphones and are now as powerful as computers, despite computers themselves having been invented only a few decades ago. Although visions for ubiquitous computing are constantly being surpassed with rapid advances in technology, its fundamental vision to bring humans and technology closer has remained the same. Similarly, the cardboard robotic arm lessens the gap between human and machine by performing human functions for those who may not have a proper functioning arm to use. However, the robotic arm may not be as reliable as a human arm and can never be quite the same as a real arm.

The digital and physical worlds are colliding, replicating, and enhancing each other. The implications of the blending of both worlds on individuals can be observed through personal wearable technologies. In her article Simulation and augmentation: Issues of wearable computers, Ana Viseu discusses the development of such wearable technologies and how they define the new collaborative relationship between the body and the environment. The article states that the connection between the digital and physical worlds is changing mostly due to the increase in research and development on the guiding principle of augmentation rather than simulation. Augmentation is when the digital is brought to the physical world, while simulation brings the physical to the digital world. Augmentation’s growing importance can be seen in the rising number of personal wearable technologies. (Viseu) Examples of these include conductive fabrics, fitbit, smart glasses, video games, and the cardboard robotic arm.

The article explains that a responsive and networked intelligent environment can empower humans and make tasks much easier for us. (Viseu) For example, phones can be networked with appliances in order to detect human activities and perform functions such as send calls to voicemail when the user is busy. Human lives can be made much more convenient with augmented environments since technologies would be able to communicate with each other and adapt their behaviour according to the needs of users. (Viseu) However, creating smarter technologies are reducing the ability of humans to interact and respond to the decisions made by the technologies. This creates competition between humans and smart technology, and the solution would be to perfect and enhance human capacities using augmented technology. (Viseu) This enhancement can be realized in the form of the robotic arm as well. With better design and more complex code, the robotic arm could be improved further to do tasks a regular human arm would not be able to do.

There is also the issue of control and the how much of it should be provided to technology. Wearable technology may be used by employers to monitor employees and instruct them to return to work if they detect inactivity. (Viseu) Computers favour known and routine behaviour and dependence on technology can result in ignoring or losing trust in human qualities of spontaneity, instinct and experience. For example, doctors may devalue their own skills and rely on technology to diagnose and treat patients, leading them to be unconfident in their skills to operate when computers are unable to. (Viseu) Wearable technologies may also have an impact on social behaviour and interactions. The technology’s connectivity with the environment can affect where people go and what they do since certain areas may allow for better connection to communicate with others or higher rates may be charged for different networks. (Viseu) Similarly, a more advanced robotic arm could possibly be relied upon more than one’s own arm due to its capabilities or efficiency. Connection with other arms could also change social behaviour among people. The regular use of an arm capable of recognizing, adapting, and reacting to users and their activities in different environments may become a reality in the near future. The application of such a device could become useful in a variety of fields.

References

Bell, Genevieve and Paul, Dourish. “Yesterday’s tomorrows: notes on ubiquitous computing’s dominant vision.” Pers Ubiquit Comput, 2006, https://slate.sheridancollege.ca/d2l/le/content/350760/viewContent/5339826/View

“Cardboard Robotic Arm.” SouravB22, 9 March. 2017, http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Robotic-Arm/

Viseu, Ana. “Simulation and augmentation: Issues of wearable computer.” Ethics and Information Technology, 2003, https://slate.sheridancollege.ca/d2l/le/content/350760/viewContent/5351657/View