armCtl

Summary

A suite of software useful in experimenting with small robotic arms. Use as a teaching framework with a low barrier to entry for robotics and programming.

History

Whilst an expansive scope, the principal development and implementation happened over 3 days in the summer of 2019.

Software Components

1. An Arduino firmware to recieve commands and position the robot arm.

• firmware/armCtl/armCtl.ino

1. A streaming serial command & control protocol to communicate with the Arduino from a computer.
2. A Python3 module that is a threaded serial reader/writer, and state machine for the arm.

• robot.py

1. An Antlr4 domain-specific scripting language for maneuvering the robot.

• ArmControl.g4

1. A Python3 implementation of that language for the Robot module.

• ArmCtlListener.py

1. A Python3 module to interface the scripting language to the robot module. When called directly, this module also provides an interactive shell for the scripting language.

• armCtl.py

Hardware Components

This BOM is one possible configuration. Substitute parts are available, and any servo controlled arm is acceptable.

Part	Cost
Arduino Uno	$22
Arduino Sensor Shield V5	$7.19
Power Supply 25W 5V 5A	$9.50
6-Axis Desktop Robotic Arm	$170

Activities

• Control the arm interactively.

> ./armCtl.py
command# go jib 90
command# wait
command# go home

• Script a simple sequence of moves.

# my_script.txt
go jib 90
wait
go home

> ./armCtl.py my_script.txt

• Write a Python3 script for complex movements.

#!/usr/bin/env python3
import armCtl as arm

command("go home")

arm.r.target = [90, 120, 10, 95, 90, 90]
arm.r.move()
while arm.r.isMoving():
    pass
print(arm.r.angle)