Past Projects
The projects below act as an example to show what the team at Robotriks ltd. has previously worked upon.
China
Robot Harvest
A project at fieldwork robotics ltd. to develop an automated tomato harvesting robot that imitated human motions and utilised soft robotic mechanisms to deform and delicately handle the soft produce.
"FitBot"
Pepper Humanoid
"FitBot" was a project for the BBC Two Documentary "Six robots and us" by RDF Television.
It consisted of developing "FitBot", a fitness humanoid that could motivate and entertain a family with whom it lived unassisted for 6 weeks with. It had on-board voice and facial recognition and was able to generate answers by a custom A.I. / Mass search algorithm.
Automated Soft Fruit Harvesting
This project utilises a desynchronized stereo vision camera set-up to produce a 3-dimensional point cloud map of its environment. From here, colour analysis is performed across both the HSV and RGB colour spaces to produce a dual compared target map of all the matched regions along with a cartesian estimation on size and location. The system is then able to determine which order the identified objects can be inspected, and then produces a path, void of any obstacles, to then intersect with the target object.
Once in contact, the gripping mechanism produces a low-pressure region between the fruit and its deformable nozzle, after which, the camera unit is then pivoted down and a structured lighting rig triggered, so that the ripeness of the fruit can be analysed.
Variable Compliance Robotic Prosthetic
The project was to construct, test and evaluate a self-contained robotic hand that is the approximate size and weight of an adult male’s hand and that costs under £80 to construct. The designed hand uses a system of three actuated tendons and two static tendons per finger to achieve both variable passive compliance and positional control of the metacarpophalangeal and proximal joints.
The geared DC motors that actuate the tendons enable the hand to fully close in 1.5s and fully open in 2.2s. The maximum weight that can be lifted utilises the hook grip and enables weights of up to 8kg to be held before mechanical failure occurs. The prototype hand design is capable of performing a multitude of dexterous grips and power grasps while the soft mechanisms aid imprecise grasping of objects and prevents damage from impacts.
CNC
Pantograph
Mill
The CNC pantograph mill was an attempt to update the pantograph style of mill to modern standards and features a custom g-code interpreter alongside high tolerance machining, and bespoke electronics.
While ultimately proving the design to be inferior to existing designs it demonstrates Robotriks ability for prototyping medium-duty mechanisms and integrating them into a functioning system.
Transforming Robot
This project consisted of prototyping, designing and programming a
350mm 2.46Kg robotic vehicle that is able to drive and function as if it were a remote controlled
car with functional windows, headlights, steering and drive systems, however with one command it
is then able to fully transform and become a fully functional bipedal humanoid robot that is then not
inhibited by its vehicular restraints.
Skeletal Tracking Security Device
By using an xbox 360 kinect to create a skeletal map of a human, this project could recognise intruders, offer verbal warnings, and engage if necessary. Engagement consisted of harmless foam darts.
- FPGA - Behavioral Computing Toy Mouse
The aim of this project was to design a VHDL based algorithm that could be deployed to the Plymouth NanoBot buggy platform, along with an interactive custom shell, which would then transform it into a robotic toy which would imitate the natural behaviours of an animal.
The robotic toy made full use of the on-board camera and was able to react to stimulus, dynamically generating emotive sounds dependant on the environment around it.
Additionally, it was an automaton, effectively acting upon its own will and interacting with users in a fun and interesting way.