Design and Development of a Low-Cost Indigenous Solar Powered 4-DOF Robotic Manipulator on an Unmanned Ground Vehicle

Abstract

We present in this paper the design, control and implementation of a versatile low cost manipulator with an arm gripper configured on an existing unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) for lifting payload (PL) and performing real world tasks. The major development in this work is the robust and efficient stable customized design of manipulator having four degrees of freedom (DOF) capable of lifting up to 1.5 kg weight for various industrial and non-industrial applications. The communication link is established using two human supervisory controlled wireless four channel 2. 4GHz remote controllers, which are separately used for UGV and manipulator for effective maneuvering and control of a 6-DOF system (UGV and Manipulator) overall. The controlling of RC servo motors is made using Arduino Uno controller board. An on board solar panel is used for charging batteries run time during the day. A50W, 1SV standard solar panel is used to enhance the maneuvering time of UGV and manipulator. The unique feature of the selected UGV is its two rotating head on flippers capable of controlled maneuvering especially in uneven terrain surfaces, stair climbing etc. Trial run experiments have shown the developed system is capable to perform future tasks in human unapproachable situations like contaminated or hazardous areas in several industrial and military applications.