Application of mechanical demultiplexer in robotic hand

Abstract

As part of a humanoid robot, the robotic hand plays a vital role in mimicking various gestures of humans. The number of Degree of Freedoms (DOF) of a robotic hand is often directly proportional to the number of actuating motors used. Nevertheless, the consequences are an increase in the weight of the robotic arm and escalating cost of purchase. This could also lead to more cost spent on shoulder actuation with prevailing actuators to lift heavyweights. Hence, this report will focus on developing and analysing a new actuation system that can control multiple outputs with minimal inputs. In this report, the author will focus on developing new designs by reviewing similar mechanisms in the current market for their advantages and disadvantages that could be used to produce new 3-Dimensional (3D) printing prototypes. The actuators are controlled through an Arduino microcontroller with Adafruit Motor Shield V2 to ensure precise value input into a computer for accurate output in robotic hand gestures. Various experiments to test the capability of the actuating system in terms of cost, actuation speed and usability.