Robotic Arm for Biological Probe Tubes Handling

Abstract

This work presents the control of a robotic arm that aims to handle biological probe tubes. The power supply of the whole system was design to operate the system in the safety region and to bring the system in a homing position if the power supply is too low. The whole system is controlled over Bluetooth communication by a smartphone application. The degree of novelty is represented by the three available modes of operation, any of them can be used via smartphone application. The first mode of operation is a manual one, that can be very useful if the user wants to change the position of the biological probe tubes, the number of probe tubes, or to create a custom pattern of movement. The manual mode allows the user to move each motor to the desired position. This position can be saved to be able to run these positions, from the first to the last. Also, the saved positions can be deleted anytime. The second mode of operation is the semiautomatic mode. Using this mode of operation, the user has the possibility to choose which probe tube he wants to move and the position where the specific probe tube is placed. The third mode of operation is the automatic mode, which allows the user to move all biological probe tubes, one by one. The user has the possibility to stop this process anytime. The speed of movement can be changed within all modes of operation.