Design and implementation of a locally-sourced robotic arm

Abstract

This paper discusses the design of a low-cost educational robot arm system. The robotic arm was developed as an undergraduate project at the Obafemi Awolowo University. The robotic arm system is a five Degree of Freedom (DOF) system and is fully functional having all of its joints (apart from the gripper) capable of 360° movement. The paper shows how cost was reduced in the design of the robot. The paper posits that through the process of building such a robot system, students can be introduced to sustainability, machine design, basic mechanics, electronics, and computing. A cost breakdown and analysis of the robotic arm developed is also given. In conclusion, the studies show that an educational robotic arm made using locally-available materials is not only feasible and viable for teaching robotics especially at early stages, but can be low-cost.