Development of a cloud-based robotic arm platform in electrical circuit laboratory for Labvolt Equipment

The pandemic has highlighted the need for the automation of laboratory activities. An articulated robot arm was designed to perform tasks such as pitch, roll, and yaw. This includes picking and plugging wires and manipulating Labvolt's knobs to reduce the risk of viral transmission to students and technicians in the laboratory. The robot arm applies inverse kinematics and integrates PID error correction into the system to minimize hysteresis. The capabilities of the robot arm were further enhanced with the designed end-effector using both customized components modeled using Fusion 360 and commercially available servo motors, stepper motors, and mounts. A stepper motor with a gearbox was attached to the voltage-control knob, enabling the client to rotate it to the preferred angle. The communication link between the client and the server is ensured using a cloud-based platform capable of streaming and providing control to the robot arm. A GUI was created to be accessible via a cloud-based web page, which features camera streaming for the robot arm and laboratory setup view as well as the commands available and the ability to send instructions to the robot arm on which movement to perform. A modified version of the laboratory manual was used to test the capabilities of the robotic arm. This project demonstrates the potential of cloud-based robotics to reduce the risk of virus transmission in laboratory settings while enhancing efficiency and safety.Index Terms — Robot Arm, PID, Gear box, Cloud-based web page, GUI