KIN Robot
C++ · Arduino · Kinematics
The KIN Robot (short for "kinematics") was designed to teach members of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) about robotics. The workshop covers basic motor control, circuitry, programming, and the concepts of forward and inverse kinematics. Students control the robot using coordinate input or joysticks. Because each workshop enrolls about 15 members, the KIN Robot was designed to be affordable, consisting of very few parts.
Mechanical Design
The KIN Robot is laser-cut out of acrylic, taking up only 23 × 23 cm. Acrylic was chosen because it is readily available and easy to cut with a laser CNC machine. It is also smooth compared to other materials, resulting in low friction where parts contact one another. Once the parts are cut, the robot is assembled using select nuts and bolts. It is driven by small hobby servo motors and controlled by an Arduino microcontroller. The overall assembly requires very little wiring since components like the servos have integrated circuits.
