OMNI

Log

Fall Term

Week 1 (Sept. 10)

All: Group meeting to discuss modular robotic arm idea and designate roles.

Week 2 (Sept. 17)

Allen, Jacky, Neel: Met with Brandon DeHart (RoboHub Manager) to discuss modular arm idea. Came up with alternative ideas (extending end effector/arm, universal base for robotic arms).

Week 3 (Sept. 24)

Allen & Jacky: Met with Prof. Melek to discuss ideas. 

All: Group meeting to discuss all ideas and brainstorm alternatives

Week 4 (Oct. 1)

No Meeting.

Week 5 (Oct. 8)

Allen: Updated solutions, needs, criteria, etc. on presentation slides. Discussed technical details with Prof. Melek and Brandon via email. 

Jacky: Researched 3 relevant patents.

Mann: Added 2 potential solutions and a decision matrix based on criteria.

Week 6 (Oct. 15)

All: Had a meeting to discuss some technical details and a rough CAD model.

Week 7 (Oct. 22)

All: Preliminary Design Presentation.

Week 8 (Oct. 29)

No Meeting.

Week 9 (Nov. 5)

Allen and Mann: Discussed mechanical design specifics and potential motors/end effectors, created rough sketches for final mechanical design.

Neel and Jacky: Discussed Electrical/Controls/Software design specifics including power, motors, control boards, sensors, simulation potential, and GUI.

Week 10 (Nov. 12)

Allen and Mann: Designed CAD models of base assembly, link + joint assembly.

Neel: Researched potential power options, contacted Paul regarding safety and power requirements.

Jacky: Researched component selection for electronics and did some planning for the electrical architecture.

Week 11 (Nov. 19)

No Meeting.

Week 12 (Nov. 26)

All: Final Design Presentation.

Week 13 (Dec. 4)

All: Final Design Report.

Winter Term

Week 1 (Jan. 5)

Allen and Mann: Sourcing parts and redesign of CAD based on updated BOM (Ongoing).

Jacky and Neel: Verify power requirements for updated BOM and start building kinematics simulation.

Week 2 (Jan. 12)

Allen and Mann: Redesign of CAD based on updated BOM (Ongoing).

Week 3 (Jan. 19)

Allen and Mann: Redesign of CAD based on updated BOM (Ongoing).

Week 4 (Jan. 26)

Allen and Mann: EMS Link order submitted, Base redesign from Aluminum sheet + Steel plate assembly to single Steel plate .

Week 5 (Feb. 2)

Allen and Mann: EMS Link order collected, Base drawing completion for EMS.

Jacky: Testing STM32 boards.

Week 6 (Feb. 9)

Allen and Mann: Links assembly, Base order submitted.

Week 7 (Feb. 16)

Allen and Mann: Links and joints assembly continued (with modifications made as required), base cover design complete.

Jacky: Started electrical testing at a individual level. Tested the level shifter and found an issue with bus contention.

Neel: Started development of Controls Software, worked one Kinematic and Inverse Kinematic Functions.

Week 8 (Feb. 23)

Allen and Mann: Links and joints assembly continued, base cover modification to allow 3D printing in sections.

Jacky:  Continued firmware development for the  STM32. Made a large electrical architecture change (no longer adding a STM32 to each joint to simplify things).

Neel: Worked on developing Joint control code.

Week 9 (Mar. 2)

Allen and Mann: Links and joints assembly finished, Base EMS order completed and collected, Base cover printed at RPC.

Jacky: Made a perf board to fix the communication problem between the motor and the STM32. Motor communication works flawlessly now.

Neel: Worked on developing GUI for joint control mode.

Week 10 (Mar. 9)

Allen and Mann: Robot arm fully assembled (links/joints + base/cover), minor modifications as required.

Jacky: Performed integration testing and added more features to the firmware.

Neel: Worked on fixing GUI for Joint control mode.

Week 11 (Mar. 20) - Symposium

Allen and Mann: Made and implemented final revisions to arm and base.

Jacky and Neel: Worked on fixing GUI for Joint control mode.