ECTE471/871/MECH950 - School of Electrical, Computer & Telecommunications Engineering

Robotics Group Project

This is a group project and has a weight of 30% of your final mark in this section of the course. You need to comply with the following rules:

(i) Forming a group: A group consists of 6 members. Each group elects a group coordinator who is responsible to organise the group meetings and coordinate the operation of the group.

(ii) Report: Your group must submit an electronic copy of your report to Turnitin Dropbox on Moodle by Wednesday 8:30am Week 10 before your presentation. The report should include: 

• The cover sheet as attached.
• The assumptions you have made in the design of your robot. 
• The design of your robot in the form of response to the questions asked in the project. 
• The fair contribution sheet completed as described in the class. Please do not include any theory or background. Only one student in your group should submit the report to Moodle.

(iii) Presentation: Your group will give a presentation on your work in Week 10. You can nominate one member of your group to give the presentation. The presentations will primarily consist of the configuration of the designed robot using Matlab without any theory or background and its animation in ARTE. The length of the presentation will be about 5 minutes, but will be precisely announced later.

(iv) Matlab (ARTE) script: You must upload to Moodle, by Wednesday 8:30am Week 10 before presentation, the Matlab/ARTE script you have developed at different stages of your project and in animation of the assembly process. The script should be in working condition as it will be run during the assessment of your project to confirm your result.

(v) The Project Mark: The project mark will consist of 20% for the report and 10% presentation, which will be based on the presentation of the group representatives. The group mark will be scaled by fair contribution rate. The normalised way will be applied to calculate each member’s mark. That is, each member’s mark is the group mark times the member’s contribution rate divided by the highest contribution rate in the group. The report and presentation will be assessed according to the attached marking sheets.

Section A

1. Based on the assembly operation required, identify the characteristics a robotic arm that can perform the assembly task automatically. Determine:

• The number of degrees of freedom of the robotic system.
• The number and type of the joints of the robotic system.
• The length of the links of the robot.
• The horizontal and vertical reaches of the system.
• The joint space work envelope required by the robotic system to perform the task.

2. Derive the orientation and location of the tool of that robot when picking a wheel and lower panel from the magazines in terms of normal, sliding and approach vectors.

3. Derive the kinematic model of the robot and determine

• The coordinate frames attached to the links of the robotic system.
• The kinematic parameters of the robotic system.
• The arm equations relating the coordinate frames of the robot tool to the coordinate frame of its base.

4. Calculate the tool characteristics of the robot including

• The tool configuration vector of the robot.
• Tool-configuration Jacobian matrix of the robot.

Section B

5. Develop an ARTE model for your designed robot and add it to the ARTE library. Then use this model to do the rest of the project. If you are not able to model your robot in ARTE, as a second option identify the simplest robot arm on the market that matches with the requirements you have identified in Q1. You can explore the library of ARTE for a suitable robot or investigate other robots provided by other manufacturers. You will lose 3 marks if you choose the second option.

6. Using ARTE, derive the kinematic model of the robot and compare with results obtained in Q3.

7. Using ARTE determine the tool Jacobian matrix when the robot picks an M3 screw and deposits it.

8. Using ARTE calculate the tooltip position and orientation of the robot for four different sets of joint vectors. Display the configuration of the robot and its tool for these four positions in the assembly workspace.

9. Using ARTE, determine the smooth transition for the tooltip of the robot when picking an M3 screw and depositing on the first hole of the panel from left. Choose appropriate via points. Animate the transition of the robot between two configurations using ARTE.

10. Calculate the velocity of the robot joint in order to produce the tool trajectory you have generated for picking an M3 screw and depositing on the first hole of the panel from left. Plot both the tool trajectory and joint velocities using ARTE.

11. Use ARTE to graphically simulate your robotics arm when performing the assembly process

Assessment Requirements – Brief Summary

The Robotics Group Project is a group-based assessment worth 30% of the final course mark. Students are required to:

1. Form a 6-member group, elect a coordinator, and submit a single report to Moodle via Turnitin.
2. Include in the report:
   • Cover sheet
   • Design assumptions
   • Robot design solutions (Section A & B)
   • Fair contribution sheet
3. Prepare a 5-minute group presentation demonstrating the MATLAB/ARTE robot configuration and animation (no theory).
4. Submit the working MATLAB/ARTE scripts that model the robot and simulate its assembly operations.
5. Ensure marking reflects: 20% report, 10% presentation, scaled by individual contribution.

Key Pointers to Cover:

• Robot characteristics: degrees of freedom, joint types, link lengths, workspace reach.
• Tool orientation and kinematics: frames, parameters, Jacobian matrix.
• ARTE modeling: simulation of assembly tasks, trajectory planning, joint velocity calculations.
• Smooth transitions and animation of robot performing assembly operations.

Step-by-Step Approach Guided by the Academic Mentor

Step 1: Group Formation and Role Assignment

• Mentor advised selecting a coordinator to manage meetings and track contributions.
• Each member was assigned specific tasks, e.g., kinematics, ARTE modeling, report compilation.

Step 2: Planning Robot Design (Section A)

• The mentor guided students to identify robot requirements: number of joints, degrees of freedom, link lengths, and workspace dimensions.
• Members derived tool orientation for picking components, establishing normal, sliding, and approach vectors.
• Kinematic models were developed, defining coordinate frames, joint parameters, and arm equations.
• Tool characteristics including the configuration vector and Jacobian matrix were calculated.

Step 3: ARTE Modeling and Simulation (Section B)

• Students built the robot in ARTE, guided to ensure it matched Section A calculations.
• The mentor demonstrated kinematic comparison between theoretical and ARTE results.
• Tool Jacobian matrix, tooltip positions, and orientations were calculated for multiple joint vectors.
• Students animated the assembly operations: M3 screw pick-and-place, smooth transitions, and plotted joint velocities using ARTE.
• Mentor reviewed animations for accuracy of trajectories and correct tool behavior in the workspace.

Step 4: Report Compilation and Submission

• The mentor checked report structure, clarity, and annotation of diagrams.
• Students included assumptions, detailed calculations, ARTE outputs, and the fair contribution sheet.
• The final report and MATLAB/ARTE scripts were submitted to Moodle before the deadline.

Step 5: Presentation Preparation

• Mentor helped nominate one member for the 5-minute demo, rehearsing the robot’s ARTE animation.
• Focus remained on visual demonstration of robot motion and assembly process, avoiding theory repetition.

Outcome and Learning Objectives Achieved

Final Outcome:

• A working ARTE model simulating assembly operations.
• Accurate kinematic and tool calculations consistent with theoretical derivations.
• Well-structured report and a smooth, professional presentation.

Learning Objectives Covered:

1. Application of robotic kinematics in practical design.
2. Development and simulation of robotic arms using ARTE and MATLAB.
3. Coordination and teamwork in group-based engineering projects.
4. Translation of theoretical calculations into practical robot operations.
5. Effective communication of technical results through report writing and presentations.

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