PROJECT PROPOSAL

Mechanical Hand
Introduction
In this project we are building a mechanical hand for warehouse robot. This mechanical
hand will be able to pick up objects of different shapes and sizes.

Materials Required

1) Suction tubes and pads

2) Driver for controlling pump (a high-current, high-voltage switch will suffice).
3) Vacuum pump (high pressure)
4) Mechanical arm (rods, servo motors, gears and connectors for the same)
5) High-capacity batteries (or overhead cable systems)
6) Wires
7) Pressure gauges
8) Servo motors
9) Pressure sealant (yet to be decided).
10) Arduino board and related components.
11) Camera
12) Ultrasonic sensor
Working
Our project is based on suction pumps and pads. In each suction pad, a hole is made and the
suction pump is connected to these pads by means of tubing. When we wish to pick up an
object, we activate the suction pump in the suction mode and touch the suction pads to the
object. The pump pumps all the air out from the gap between the object and the pad,
creating a perfect vacuum seal. This vacuum seal enables us to lift the object. To release the
object, we stop the pump.
The arm keeps moving forward until it establishes contact with the object. This can be
verified by the ultrasonic sensor.
We can involve signal processing and machine learning for the robot to autonomously
identify and pick up unlabeled and unmarked objects.
First task: Assembly of vacuum module, ensuring integrity of seals and establishing
proof-of-concept.
Timeline: 2-3 weeks
Second task: Further assembly of arm module
Timeline: 2 more weeks
Third task: Programming for higher order control and automated pickup of prerecognized
object
Timeline: 3-5 more weeks
Fourth task: Automated object recognition and automatic pickup
Timeline: 1-2 years
TEAM MEMBERS:
Gaurav Goel
Anish Rajan
Anirudh K.B
Avik Bhatnagar
Sreevardhan
Tanmay Joshi