Assistive Robotic Arm
By Ali, Asma; Madariaga, Megan G.; Mcgeary, Danielle C.; Enderle, John D.; NSF 2007 Engineering Senior Design Projects to Aid Persons With Disabilities, pp. 238-239Publication Date: 2010
Description of a robotic arm that allows a child with quadriplegic athetoid cerebral palsy to eat independently. Designed by students at the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Connecticut, the Assistive Robotic Arm consists of (1) a base housing a motor and a rotating plate which rotate the entire device; (2) an upper arm attached to the base; (3) an elbow joint, connected to the upper arm, capable of moving from zero to 90 degrees vertically; (4) a lower arm attached to the elbow joint; (5) a wrist; (6) a gripping device connected to the lower arm by the wrist joint; (7) two gears controlling the motion of the gripping device, one of which is rotated by a motor; (7) batteries; and (8) a keypad consisting of six switches that controls the device. The upper and lower arms are connected by a pulley system. The grippers are designed to hold a custom made soup spoon. The client can orient the device to a desired position by operating the keypad. The keypad is responsible for turning on and off the voltage source from the batteries and for controlling bidirectional movement of the arm by reversing the voltage.
Published by: Creative Learning Press, Inc. (Website:http://www.creativelearningpress.com)
Link to text: http://nsf-pad.bme.uconn.edu/2007/Chapter14,University%20of%20Connecticut.pdf
ISBN: 1-931280-12-6
