Cocobot: Design and Implementation of a Robotic ARM to Ameliorate the Process of Stirring in the COCO Sugar Production in Alabat, Quezon

Abstract

This study aims to increase the yield of coco sugar production while ensuring the quality and cleanliness of the product through the design and implementation of an articulated arm for the stirring process of coco sugar production in Alabat, Quezon Province. An articulated robot arm is a robotic representation of human arm having three axes connected to two revolute bases. In order to design and implement the robotic arm, comparison between motors in terms of heat dissipation and time it takes to travel the work envelope is scrutinized to better actuate the joints of the proposed articulated robotic arm. Linear guides and DC geared motors are used for the three degrees of freedom which represents the shoulder, elbow and wrist part of the robot arm. A current sensor is connected to the DC geared motor on the wrist part of the arm which served as the viscosity sensing mechanism of the articulated robot arm. Arduino Uno is used as the microcontroller that controls the whole system. The stirring time to complete the process has decreased compared to the existing method while the yield of the coco sugar produced using the automated process increased compared to the yield produced using the manual process. The coco sugar produced using the automated process undergone third party testing and was compared to the standards established by the Philippine National Standards (PNS) in terms of physical, chemical and microbiological properties and have complied to these standards using the proposed process.