Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering

Electronic Design Project 3A (EDPA301)

Assessment Number 2

Final Proposal

Project Title: Automatic Pick and Place Robot Arm

By

Sikhakhane NS 21802631
 PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

1. I know and understand that plagiarism is using another person’s work and pretending it is
one’s own, which is wrong.

2. This report is my own work.

3. I have appropriately referenced the work of other people I have used.

4. I have not allowed and will not allow anyone to copy my work with the intention of passing
it off as his/her own work.

Sikhakhane NS 21802631
________________________ ___________________ ___________________
Surname and Initials Student Number Signature

28/08/2022
________________________
Date

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Contents
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... v
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... vi
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Overview of the project .......................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Specifications and objective of the Project..................................................................... 1
1.1.2 Application of robot arm ................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Background and significance .................................................................................................. 2
1.3 Benefits of the Project ............................................................................................................ 2
1.4 Constraints of the project ....................................................................................................... 2
1.5 Applicable Standards, Codes of Practice, and Legislation ...................................................... 3
CHAPTER 2 PRELIMINARY DATA ............................................................................................................. 4
2.1 Colour sorting robotic arm ...................................................................................................... 4
2.1.1 Results ............................................................................................................................. 4
2.2 ROBOTIC ARM USING MATLAB GUI ........................................................................................ 4
2.2.1 Results ............................................................................................................................. 5
2.3 Joystick-controlled industrial robotic system with a robotic arm .......................................... 5
CHAPTER 3 DETAILED PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................................... 6
3.1 Block Diagram ......................................................................................................................... 6
3.2 GUI (Graphic User Interface)................................................................................................... 6
3.3 Circuit diagram ........................................................................................................................ 8
3.4 Flow chart ............................................................................................................................... 9
CHAPTER 4 TIME MANAGEMENT ......................................................................................................... 10
4.1 Task Description .................................................................................................................... 11
4.1.1 Draft proposal ............................................................................................................... 11
4.1.2 Final proposal ................................................................................................................ 11
4.1.3 Project prototype and testing ....................................................................................... 11
4.1.4 Progress presentation ................................................................................................... 12
4.1.5 Prototype and result ..................................................................................................... 12
4.1.6 Draft report ................................................................................................................... 12
4.1.7 Final report.................................................................................................................... 12
4.1.8 Project Presentation and Demonstration ..................................................................... 12
CHAPTER 5 Possible problem and solution ........................................................................................... 13
CHAPTER 6 BENGTECH LEVEL KNOWLEDGE ......................................................................................... 14
6.1 Analogue Electronic .............................................................................................................. 14
6.2 Computer programming ....................................................................................................... 14

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 6.3 Fundamentals of microcontroller and embedded system ................................................... 14
6.4 Electronic circuit design ........................................................................................................ 14
6.5 Electronic design circuit ........................................................................................................ 14
6.7 Technical literacy .................................................................................................................. 15
CHAPTER 7 MATERIAL & RESOURCES ................................................................................................... 16
7.1 Materials to be used ............................................................................................................. 16
7.1.1 Robot arm ..................................................................................................................... 16
7.1.2 Servo motor .................................................................................................................. 16
7.1.3 Arduino Mega 2560 ...................................................................................................... 17
7.1.4 ultrasonic sensor ........................................................................................................... 18
7.1.5 Graphic User Interface (GUI)......................................................................................... 19
7.1.6 MATLAB ......................................................................................................................... 19
7.2 Alternative Solution ............................................................................................................. 20
7.1.1 STM32 Nucleo ............................................................................................................... 20
7.1.2 ESP32-CAM.................................................................................................................... 20
7.1.3 Python ........................................................................................................................... 21
CHAPTER 8 RELATE TO THE REAL WORLD ............................................................................................ 23
8.1 Social impact ......................................................................................................................... 23
8.2 Economic impact ................................................................................................................... 23
8.3 Health and safety impact ...................................................................................................... 23
8.4 Environment impact.............................................................................................................. 24
8.5 Legal impact .......................................................................................................................... 24
8.6 OSH ACT ................................................................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER 9 Project Assessment ............................................................................................................ 26
CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 27
CHAPTER 11 References Description .................................................................................................... 28
CHAPTER 12 References........................................................................................................................ 29

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2. 1: Colour sorting robotic arm ................................................................................................... 4

Figure 2. 2: Joystick-controlled industrial robotic system with a robotic arm ....................................... 5
Figure 3. 1: Block Diagram ...................................................................................................................... 6
Figure 3. 2: GUI (Graphic User Interface) ................................................................................................ 6
Figure 3. 3: Data Flow ............................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 3. 4: project operation ................................................................................................................. 7
Figure 3. 5: circuit diagram ..................................................................................................................... 8
Figure 3. 6: flow chart ............................................................................................................................. 9
Figure 4. 1: Gannt Chart ........................................................................................................................ 10
Figure 7. 1: Robot Arm. ......................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 7. 2: Servo motor. ...................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 7. 3: Arduino mage 2560. ........................................................................................................... 17
Figure 7. 4: Ultrasonic Sensor. .............................................................................................................. 18
Figure 7. 5: STM32 Nucleo .................................................................................................................... 20
Figure 7. 6: ESP32-CAM......................................................................................................................... 21

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 LIST OF TABLES
Table 4. 1 Tasks List ............................................................................................................................... 10
Table 4. 2 Tasks list and allocation hours.............................................................................................. 11
Table 7. 1 Bill of Materials .................................................................................................................... 22

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 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview of the project
The proposed project is to develop an automatic pick and place robot arm. The project will detect the
object and that detected object will be picked and place it at designed place. The object must be
between 8cm to 12cm from the robot arm. The proposed project will be consisting of four
components. The first component will be the computer with MATLAB GUI (Graphic User Interface), an
Arduino microcontroller, the robot arm with four servo motors, and the ultrasonic sensor. The
ultrasonic sensor will be utilised to scan, detect, and measure the distance between the object and
the robot arm. That distance will be read by Arduino and send it to MATLAB to be analyse the exact
location of the object. The MATLAB will then instruct the robot to pick the object by controlling the
appropriate servo motors and place the object at the desired or design place and that place will be at
the rightmost side of the robot arm.

1.1.1 Specifications and objective of the Project

The aim of this project is to develop an automatic pick and place robot arm. The robot arm must pick
and place the object at desired place. Ultrasonic sensor to be used to measure the distance between
object and robot arm.

• The project must be automatic: the user may only initiate the process and stop the process,
but the robotic arm must move by itself.
• MATLAB must be used.
• It must pick an object and place it on the rightmost side.
• The project must use an Ultrasonic sensor to detect the distance between it and the object.
• It must have a GUI (Graphic User Interface) with 2 buttons. Scan and reset.
• The final position of the object will be announced in audio.

1.1.2 Application of robot arm

This proposed robotic arm can be used in industries to perform the functions of pick and placing
object. It can be used as:

• The robot arm can be used as a parts sorter. Parts are sorted and selected based on properties
such as shape, size, colour, and barcode, and placed in the desired location. This can be done
using visual inspection techniques.

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 • The Pick and Place Robotic Arm can be used in assembly applications. There, the received
components are picked up and placed, and other parts are fixed, inserted, or connected to
them.
• A pick-and-place robotic arm can be programmed to pick up defective parts using a vision
system monitor and remove them before proceeding to the next production stage.

1.2 Background and significance

A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm that resembles a human arm. There are different segments
that are very similar to shoulders, elbows, and wrists. A robotic arm can be programmed and
controlled to perform different functions just like a human arm. Most robots used in industry are
designed to handle repetitive and heavy-duty manufacturing tasks. Robots usually must perform
dangerous, tedious, and difficult tasks. A robotic arm is the most used manufacturing robot. A robotic
arm is basically a type of mechanical arm that is programmable and can perform functions like those
of a human arm. In today's modern world, robotic arms are used for almost everything from building
motherboards to performing open-heart surgery. Technological advances have come a long way since
robotic arms were first used [1].

The invention of the robotic arm dates to 1954. That's when a self-taught inventor named George
Devol applied for a patent for a mechanical arm that could be programmed to repeat a precise task.
Devol then explained his concept to an engineer named Joseph Engelberger, who collectively called
the concept his Unimation. In 1963, Rancho Los His Amigos Hospital researchers developed Rancho
His Arm to help disabled patients. This was the first computer-controlled robotic arm, and he had six
joints so that he could move like a human arm [2].

1.3 Benefits of the Project

• The response time of the robot arm is fast.
• Automatic pick-up and placement of objects by the robotic arm is very accurate due to the
high accuracy of the ultrasonic sensor.
• The robotic arm can be automated, allowing users to work from the control room or from
home.
• The robot arm is small and lightweight, ideal for applications where space is limited.

1.4 Constraints of the project

• The central axis on which the entire robot arm rotates is only 180 degrees. It cannot rotate
360 degrees, which limit the area the robot arm can cover.
• The project requires MATLAB based knowledge for one to be able to use it properly.

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 • The robotic arm can only pick up light objects. The jaws of the robotic arm are only capable
of picking up cubic objects. The jaws of the robot arm struggle to pick up circular objects.
• Ultrasonic sensor will be set to detect object that is between 8cm to 12cm because the robot
arm cannot move more than 15 cm.

1.5 Applicable Standards, Codes of Practice, and Legislation

• This project is environmentally friendly. Robots help reduce a large amount of waste during
the application process and help improve the environment. This reduces pollutants in the air
and on the planet, reducing the need to dispose of more waste.
• This project can improve security and safety. Robotic arms help keep workers safe by working
in hazardous environments and performing tasks that pose a high risk of personal injury.
• During calibration, the robotic must be turned off or be on reset mode to avoid any injuries
or damaging of the components.
• The robotic arm must not pick or detect the object that is outside the workplace (8 cm to 12
cm in front of the robot arm)
• The Arduino board should not be supplied with more than 12V and all other components must
be connected to their respective pins and operation voltages i.e., 5V or 3.3 V and ground.
• Only legible operators may interfere with the code of the project and can be done during
improvements and maintenance.

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 CHAPTER 2 PRELIMINARY DATA
The robot arm can be used in different ways. Research have been made about different project that
can help in developing this project. However, they serve different application and uses different
implementation technology. Some of the papers are listed below with their technology.

2.1 Colour sorting robotic arm

S. A. Khan, T. Z. Anika, and N. Sultana develop a colour sorting robotic arm. It is designed to detect the
exact position of an object and pick up the object to place it at desired or designed place. The
ultrasonic sensor was used to detection of an object and colour sorting sensor was used to check the
colour of the object. Three different colours were used of which was blue, red, and green. The
microcontroller board ATMEGA328P was used as the heart of the project to control four servo motor
of the robot arm [3].

2.1.1 Results

Figure 2. 1: Colour sorting robotic arm

The colour sorting robotic arm was an automatically controlled robotic arm. An ultrasonic sensor is
used to detect an object, a robot arm picks up this detected object, and a TCS230 colour sensor detects
the colour of the object and places it at a predefined location. The robotic arm placed the red object
with a defined angular shift of 180 degrees, the blue object with a defined angular shift of 150 degrees,
and the green object with a defined angular shift of 120 degrees. The purpose of this project was to
recognize objects based on their colour and place them in programmed pre-defined locations.

2.2 ROBOTIC ARM USING MATLAB GUI

R. Manikanta, O.S.D. Akhilesh, and E. Rakesh developed a pick and place robot arm. It designed to pick
and place the object at desired location. The two degrees of freedom robot arm was used, which
means the robot arm can only move left, right, and to lift an object and placing it. The locomotion and
the control of the robot arm was achieved by using GUI (graphical User Interface) in MATLAB [4].

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2.2.1 Results

The operating of the robot arm relay on GUI in MATLAB. Robot arm cannot move unless the graphical
buttons in GUI is pressed. By using this robot arm can pick any object and operate the robot in forward,
left, right direction and place the object wherever need. This robot arm is manually controlled robot
arm and is controlled by GUI in MATLAB.

2.3 Joystick-controlled industrial robotic system with a robotic arm

Reduanur Rahman and Md Sajid Rahman developed a joystick-controlled industrial robotic system
with a robotic arm. This robotic system is controlled by a user using a joystick. The user can operate
both the robotic vehicle and the robotic arm. Follow the user's command to move from one place to
another, select the desired object and place it for the user. The project is designed to be wirelessly
operated by the user, allowing many elements to be selected and placed. Using the joystick,
commands are sent to the receiver on the sending side to adjust the robot's movement, for example
forward, backward, left, and right. This project aims to create an industrial robotic system that can
collect objects and move them from one place to another, controlled by wireless communications. It
was programmed by Arduino IDE. This project deals with simple components such as PS2 controller,
Arduino Mega 2560, 12V battery, PCA 9685 16 channel servo driver, L293d DC motor driver, MG996
servo motor and DC geared motor [5].

Figure 2. 2: Joystick-controlled industrial robotic system with a robotic arm

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 CHAPTER 3 DETAILED PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS
3.1 Block Diagram
The proposed project it an automatic pick and place robot arm. GUI (Graphic User Interface) will be
used to control the on and off the sensor and robot arm. The sensor will be used to scan the object
and measure the distance between it and object. The robot arm will be used to pick and place the
object at designed place. The final position of the object will be announced in audio. Microcontroller
will be used as an interface of the three components through a wired communication. In other words,
microcontroller will be used as the heart of the project. The typical block diagram of the system is as
shown in Figure 3.1.

Figure 3. 1: Block Diagram

3.2 GUI (Graphic User Interface)

The proposed GUI (Graphic User Interface) will have two graphical buttons. The first button will be
scan button, which will instruct the sensor to scan for an object, if it detect an object then the robot
arm will pick and place that object at the rightmost side of the robot arm. The second button will be
reset, which will be used to stop the sensor from scanning and set the robot arm to an origin position
and maintain that position until or unless scan button is pressed again. The figure 3.2 is the proposed
GUI.

Figure 3. 2: GUI (Graphic User Interface)

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The proposed sensor will be used to detect an object that will be at the workplace. If it detect an
object, it will send the feedback to a GUI to notify it that the is an object at the workplace on the
specific distance or position. The sensor will also measure the distance between it and the detected
object. The robot arm will be used to pick the detected object. The robot arm will receive the distance
of an object from the sensor through the microcontroller. The robot will the place the at the rightmost
side of it.

The microcontroller will be used as the heart of this project. GUI, sensor, and robot arm will interact
through microcontroller. The GUI will send data to a sensor through microcontroller, then the sensor
will send back the feedback to an GUI through microcontroller. Based on the feedback received from
the sensor, the GUI will then send another data to a robot arm to control it. Figure 3.3 shows the flow
of information or data from GUI till it control robot arm. The data flow from point 1 to point 6.

Figure 3. 3: Data Flow

Figure 3. 4: project operation

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The figure 3.4 show how the project will look like. Ultrasonic sensor will be mounted on the base of
the robot arm, as the robot arm will be moving from left to right, and right to left, the ultrasonic sensor
will be scanning object in the workplace. The workplace will be the distance between 8 cm to 12 cm
away from the robot arm. An object that will be detected at the workplace will be picked up and place
it at the drop box, that will be 8 cm away from the robot arm at the rightmost side of it.

3.3 Circuit diagram

Figure 3. 5: circuit diagram

The circuit diagram figure 3.5 is the proposed circuit diagram of the project. The Arduino will be
connected to a laptop with MATLAB. The code will be in MATLAB where the programming of the
components will take place. The code will be downloaded to the Arduino for execution. Four servo
motors will be used, and all servo motors will need or used PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to operate.
The digital pin 6 to pin 9 of the Arduino will be used to connect servo motors respectively. The
ultrasonic sensor will need PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to operate and two digital pins will be used
to connect ultrasonic sensor. The trigger pin of the ultrasonic sensor will be connected to pin 11 of the
Arduino and the echo pin of the ultrasonic sensor will be connected to pin 10 of the Arduino. All
grounds of the components will be connected and the VCC of the components will be connected.

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3.4 Flow chart

Figure 3. 6: flow chart

Figure 3.6 shows the proposed flowchart of the project. The program will start and the initialization
of components that will be used, will be assigned to variables and all library that will be needed to
support some components will be called and downloaded. The robot arm will be set to initial position
and robot arm will maintain that position until the object is detected. If the scan button is pressed,
the ultrasonic sensor will scan the object in the workplace. If the ultrasonic sensor detect the object,
the robot arm will pick the object and place it at the designed place. After robot arm pick and place
the object, then ultrasonic sensor will continue with the scan of an object. If the reset button is
pressed, the robot arm will return to the initial position and maintain it. The reset button will set the
robot arm to its initial position regardless of the object being detected.

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 CHAPTER 4 TIME MANAGEMENT
Time management is the strategy of planning your available time and controlling how much time you
spend on specific tasks in order to work more efficiently. All deadlines are met every time to properly
plan the time required to complete a particular task.

Table 4. 1 Tasks List

TASKS Start Date End Date Duration (days)

Research about the project 02-Aug 06-Aug 4
Draft proposal 02-Aug 08-Aug 6
Final proposal 09-Aug 29-Aug 20
Testing of components 30-Aug 06-Sep 7
Project prototype 07-Sep 15-Sep 8
Programming project 16-Sep 23-Sep 7
Progress report 24-Sep 03-Oct 9
Assembling the project 04-Oct 14-Oct 10
Project testing and results 15-Oct 25-Oct 10
Draft report 26-Oct 15-Nov 20
Final report 09-Nov 25-Nov 16
Final presentation 26-Nov 28-Nov 2
Project demonstration 26-Nov 28-Nov 2

Table 4.1 shows the task list, start date of the task, the end date of the task, and the duration of the
task in day(s).

Figure 4. 1: Gannt Chart

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Gantt charts are used to show project time management. Gantt charts are useful because they help
you better visualize the timeline of your entire project.

Table 4. 2 Tasks list and allocation hours

TASKS Hours available Hours Will Be Spent

Research about the project 96 24
Draft proposal 144 18
Final proposal 480 15
Testing of components 168 48
Project prototype 192 24
Programming project 168 12
Progress report 216 9
Assembling the project 240 10
Project testing and results 240 6
Draft report 480 48
Final report 384 24
Final presentation 48 9
Project demonstration 48 9
TOTAL HOURS 2904 256

Table 4.2 shows the tasks list, available hours and hours that will be spent on each task.

4.1 Task Description

4.1.1 Draft proposal

18 hours spent on this draft proposal. The research about the project was done, especially about
MATLAB as it will be used to program the project, on how to develop GUI (Graphic User Interface) as
it will control the robot arm and the components that will be used in this project were searched.

4.1.2 Final proposal

15 hours allocated for final proposal. Once the feedback of the draft proposal is received, the
improvement will be made based on the feedback from the supervisor and if draft proposal of project
doesn’t meet the specification of the project, it will be changed to fully meet all the specification
requirements.

4.1.3 Project prototype and testing

Once the components are received, the construction of the project will commence. Firstly, all
components will be tested separately before the whole project is compiled to make sure or to check

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if all components are working correctly and it will be easy to troubleshoot the project if it not working
or specific component is not working.

4.1.4 Progress presentation

9 hours is allocated for preparation of the progress presentation. The progress of the project will be
the presentation where the supervisor will be in form about the work or progress about project at
that time the presentation will take place.

4.1.5 Prototype and result

Once the feedback is received from the supervisor, the adjustment or improvement will be made
based on the feedback from to improve the project. Once the improvement is done will means the
project id done. The results will be taken.

4.1.6 Draft report

48 hours is allocated for draft report. The compiling of all the work or task that have been done about
the project, and the results and testing of the project will all be compiled of the draft report in the
report format.

4.1.7 Final report

24 hours will be allocated for final report. Once the feedback of draft report is received from the
supervisor, the improvement and adjustment will be made from the draft report.

4.1.8 Project Presentation and Demonstration

9 hours is allocated for preparation of the final presentation and demonstration of the project. Power
point will be used to generate slide for presentation.

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 CHAPTER 5 Possible problem and solution
During the construction of the project, the components or component may be damaged because of
the poor handling it or fault by default. That damage component will be replaced by the new
component. ManTech will be used to buy components at my own expenses.

Ultrasonic sensor may not work accuracy when scanning the object and measuring the distance
between it and the detected object. The camera may be used as an alternative component for more
accuracy of scanning the object and measuring the distance between it and the captured object.

Some tasks may not have enough time to complete it or deadline to soon to complete it because of
the pressure from other modules, like tests or assignment need to be done from other modules. The
study timeline will be made to accommodate all modules with equal and enough time. The project
timeline will be made to prioritize deadlines and project tasks.

Arduino may not provide enough power to power all the components connected to it and some of the
components may need more than 5V to operate and Arduino cannot provide more than 5V and 50
mA. An external power supply may be used to add some power need to support the components that
need more than 5V to operate.

It is difficult to program in MATLAB. They may be some difficult to develop and program the GUI
(Graphic User Interface) in MATLAB. MathWorks site will be visited for help in programming because
MathWorks site help the most about the common mistake made when programming in MATLAB and
it answer the most asked questions about programming in MATLAB.

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 CHAPTER 6 BENGTECH LEVEL KNOWLEDGE
The proposed project will require, or test knowledge gained from the beginning of the electronic
engineering course for first year till now. The module that will help or tested are as follows:

6.1 Analogue Electronic

This module taught a lot about the fundamentals of analogue electronics and the basic circuits design,
teaches construction and analysis of working electronic circuits. This project will utilize the
construction of the circuit. It is important to make proper construction of the and have the basic
information about component and how to construct it or connect it.

6.2 Computer programming

This module taught a lot about the fundamentals concepts of programming using a high-level
computer programming language. The language that was used in this programming module was C++
language and C++ language is also used in MATLAB. It will be much easy to understand or to program
the project since the is the fundamentals of C++ language.

6.3 Fundamentals of microcontroller and embedded system

These modules taught a lot about interface the inputs and the output components with
microcontroller. Microcontroller is important component in this project as it will be used to interface
the components. These modules also taught about how to send data to an output and read data from
input. The important of knowing the type of signal the input or output will used since it provides an
analogy and digital signal.

6.4 Electronic circuit design

This module utilizes the knowledge learned in all the fundamental electric and electronic moguls for
advance circuit modelling, design, and simulation. This module also emphasis being made on
integrated digital and analogue circuit project. This module will help in designing and constructing the
project that will functional and be used in real world application.

6.5 Electronic design circuit

This module involves the application of knowledge attained during the programming. In this module
work as the group to design the project that is functional and can be used in the real-world application.
The microcontroller board is used in this module, and it will be easier to use microcontroller board
because the is fundamental information of it and have been used before to make project. This project
won’t have much difference from electronic design circuit and the difference will be that is using
MATLAB.

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6.7 Technical literacy
This module taught a lot about working independently and with groups. Also taught about the
importance of using an appropriate format when writing a technical report and proper reference the
information that is not you, take from other source and the reference styles.

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 CHAPTER 7 MATERIAL & RESOURCES
7.1 Materials to be used
7.1.1 Robot arm

Figure 7. 1: Robot Arm [6].

A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm that resembles a human arm. There are different segments
that are very similar to shoulders, elbows, and wrists. A robotic arm can be programmed and
controlled to perform different functions just like a human arm. Most robots used in industry are
designed to handle repetitive and heavy-duty manufacturing tasks [6]. The 4 degree of freedom robot
arm will be used in this project. The 4 degree of freedom robot arm is a robot that has four axes or
joints. The joints will be base, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Base will provide the movement and the
stability needed for the entire robotic arm to function correctly. The robot arm will be used to pick the
detected object and place it at the rightmost side.

7.1.2 Servo motor

Figure 7. 2: Servo motor [7].

An actuator that precisely controls angular or linear position, velocity, and acceleration is a servo
motor. A position feedback sensor is connected to the motor in a servo motor. Applications for servo
motors include robotics, CNC machinery, and automated manufacturing. In a closed loop control

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system, a servomotor is one of several components that includes a shaft, a potentiometer, a drive
wheel, an amplifier, an encoder, or a resolver. Servomotors are independent electrical components
that rotate machinery parts precisely and efficiently. Through the control wire, a pulse with a variable
width, also known as pulse width modulation (PWM), is used to control servos. The minimum,
maximum, and repetition rate of the pulses are all defined. Typically, a servo motor can only rotate
180°, or 90° in either direction. [7]. Servo motor will be used to make or control the joints of the robot
arm. Four of the servo motor will be used. First servo will be at the base of robot arm, another one
will be at the shoulders, another one will be at the elbows, and other one will be at the wrists.

Technical Specifications of SG90 Servo Motor:

• 1520μs/50 Hz is the working Frequencies.

• The torque is 2.5 kg-cm.
• 180° is the Rotate angle.
• 4.8 ~ 6 V DC Volts is the operating Voltage.
• Operating Speed (4.8v): 0.15 Sec/60 Degrees.
• 7us is dead band.
• Weight is 9 grams.

7.1.3 Arduino Mega 2560

Figure 7. 3: Arduino mage 2560 [8].

The Arduino Mega 2560 is an open source development board based on the Atmega2560 AVR
microcontroller. This microcontroller is an 8-bit microcontroller. It uses ATmega16U2 microchip
technology. This board can be programmed with C++ language. It's primarily used for controlling and
managing multiple motors, interfacing multiple sensors, sensing, and detecting temperature, water
level monitoring projects, and home automation and protection systems. It has 16 analogue inputs,
54 digital input/output pins (of which 14 can be used as PWM outputs), a 16MHz crystal oscillator, 4
UARTs (hardware serial ports), a power jack, a USB connection, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It
comes with everything you need to get started with the microcontroller; simply plug it into a device

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via USB or power it with an alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) adapter or battery [8]. It will
be used to send, receive, and store data. It will interface the GUI (Graphic User Interface) with
ultrasonic sensor and robot arm. It will also control the robot arm and ultrasonic sensor.

Technical specifications of the Arduino Mega 2560

• MICROCONTROLLER: ATmega2560
• 5V is the operating Voltage.
• 7-12V is the Recommended Input Voltage.
• Dc Current For 3.3V Pin 50 mA
• FLASH MEMORY 256 KB
• SRAM 8 KB
• EEPROM 4 KB
• CLOCK SPEED 16 MHz

7.1.4 ultrasonic sensor

Figure 7. 4: Ultrasonic Sensor [9].

An ultrasonic sensor is an electronic device that can measure the distance to an object by emitting
ultrasonic waves and converting the reflected sound into electrical signals. Basically, such sensors use
transducers to send and receive ultrasonic pulses, which in turn send back information about the
proximity of objects. Ultrasonic sensors first emit high frequency sound waves. Here, the transducer
acts as a microphone that transmits ultrasonic pulses/sounds and receives echoes. The sensor
shortens the distance to an object by measuring the time between sending and receiving an
ultrasonic pulse [9]. The ultrasonic sensor will be used to scan the object, if it detect an object then it
will measure the distance between it and the detected object. That distance will be send back to GUI
(Graphic User Interface). The distance can be calculated by calculating the travel time and the speed
of sound.

Speed of sound × time taken

Distance =
2

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It is divided by 2 because the sound wave goes and hits the obstacle then come back to the receiver,
so the waves travelled two times the distance of the obstacle, therefore we need to divide by two.

Technical Specifications of HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor:

• 5V DC is the operating Voltage.

• Operating Current: 15mA
• 40KHz is the operating Frequency.
• 2cm to 4m is the detection Range.
• Ranging Accuracy 3mm
• Measuring Angle: 15 degrees
• Trigger Input Signal 10µS TTL pulse

7.1.5 Graphic User Interface (GUI)

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) is a system of interactive visual components for computer software.
A GUI displays objects that convey information and represent actions that a user can perform. Objects
change color, size, or visibility as the user interacts with them. Computer with MATLAB will be used to
develop or design the GUI in MATLAB. The GUI will have two bottons of which will be scan and reset.
Scan botton will be used to scan for an object and if it detect the object, the robot arm will the pick
and place that object at the designed place. Reset button will be used to stop the scanning of the
object and return the robot at the origin place.

7.1.6 MATLAB

MATLAB® is a programming platform built for engineers and scientists to analyse and design the
systems and products that change the world. At the heart of MATLAB is his MATLAB language, a
matrix-based language that allows the most natural expression of computational mathematics. You
can use MATLAB to find solutions, integrals, and derivatives of equations and optimize results for
design problems involving multiple variable parameters. It can also be used to work with experimental
data in lab classes and to create graphs to visualize experiments and draw conclusions.

MATLAB provides an excellent environment for creating GUIs. Because it automatically generates the
code for designing the GUI. The generated code also includes comments that help the programmer
understand what the code is and better organize the call-back functions. This makes the programmer's
job easier and saves bulky code. This makes MATLAB an efficient tool for creating GUI. The purpose of
a GUI is to create an interface that anyone can use. This makes it an important tool for engineers to
implement in their projects. The MATLAB® Support Package for Arduino® Hardware allows you to

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interact with your Arduino board using MATLAB. With this package, you can perform tasks such as:
get analogy and digital sensor data from your Arduino board, control other devices with digital and
PWM outputs, and drive DC, servo, and stepper motors. MATLAB is a highly interpreted language,
allowing you to immediately see the results of I/O statements without compiling. MATLAB includes
thousands of built-in math, construction, and plotting functions that you can use to quickly analyse
and visualize data collected by your Arduino [10].

7.2 Alternative Solution

7.1.1 STM32 Nucleo

Figure 7. 5: STM32 Nucleo [11]

STM32 Nucleo can be used instead of using Arduino Mega board. STMicroelectronics NUCLEO-F411RE
Development Board allows you to build and evaluate your own prototypes using the STM32 F4 family
of high-performance microcontrollers in embedded applications. An easy-to-use development
platform that provides a quick solution for evaluation and development with the ARM Cortex-M4
processor STM32 F4 32-bit Flash microcontroller in the LQFP64 package [11].

Technical specifications of the STM32Nucleo [11]:

• The Microcontroller: STM32F401RET6 (32-bit)

• The Architecture ARM Cortex M4 CPU with FPU
• The 84 MHz is the CPU Frequency.
• The 4 to 26 MHz Board is the Crystal Oscillator Range.
• 7V to 15V is the operating Voltage
• The Flash Memory: 512KB
• The SRAM: 96 KB
• ADC: 12-bit 16Channel

7.1.2 ESP32-CAM

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 Figure 7. 6: ESP32-CAM [12]

Instead of using ultrasonic sensor, ESP32-CAM can be used. By using ESP32-CAM to detect object can
be more advance because ESP32-CAM can take picture of an object. ESP32-CAM is a small low power
camera module based on ESP32. It comes with an OV2640 camera and provides a built-in TF card slot.
ESP32-CAM can be widely used in smart IoT applications such as wireless video surveillance, Wi-Fi
image upload, QR identification, etc [12].

Technical specifications of the ESP32-CAM [12]:

• The Power supply voltage is 5V

• The RAM: built-in 520 KB plus external 4M PSRAM
• It Support interface: UART, SPI, I2C, PWM
• It have 9 I/O port
• Serial port rate: default 115200 bps
• Spectrum Range: 2412 to 2484 MHz

7.1.3 Python

Instead of using MATLAB, python can be used to create GUI. Python is a widely used computer
programming language for creating software and websites, automating processes, and conducting
data analysis. A general-purpose language is Python. It is not specialized to any one type of issue and
can be utilized to construct a wide range of programs. It is one of the most popular programming
languages because of its adaptability and beginner-friendliness. For the building of GUIs (Graphical
User Interfaces), Python offers a variety of choices. Tkinter is the approach used the most frequently
among all GUI approaches. This is the typical Python interface for the Python-bundled Tk GUI toolkit.
The fastest and simplest approach to create GUI apps is with Python and Tkinter. [13].

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Table 7. 1 Bill of Materials

Materail Quantity Price

Robot arm kit 1 R1 350
Arduino mage 2560 1 R390
Ultrasonic sensor 1 R46
Jumper wires 40 R60
Total amount R1 846

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 CHAPTER 8 RELATE TO THE REAL WORLD
8.1 Social impact
Reduce the risk of serious injury or death in hazardous work. Reconnaissance robots help advance
scientific knowledge. Manned missions to inaccessible environments are more expensive and
dangerous than sending robots. Search and rescue robots are designed to search environments such
as the ruins of buildings where earthquakes have occurred. Home robots help with cleaning. A single
robot can eliminate human workers and replace multiple workers in a factory. Wherever robots and
humans work together, there is a risk of injury.

8.2 Economic impact

• The emergence of new opportunities creates new jobs that may not have existed a decade or
more ago. Robotic automation reduces labour demand for routine tasks, but also increases
employment in other occupations such as software development, training, robot installation
and maintenance.
• With robots in the workplace, manufacturing is always fast and efficient. Robots, unlike
human workers, do not need breaks, sleep, vacations, sick leave, and repetitive tasks. This
effectiveness means higher productivity and higher profits in an efficient manner.
• Wages are rising day by day. Therefore, it is more cost-effective to introduce robots than to
pay large salaries to multiple employees. It's easier and cheaper to install a robotic system
than pay an inefficient employee.
• Growth is driven by a combination of one or his three factors: improving the quality of labour,
increasing capital, and total factor productivity (TFP), also known as multi-factor productivity.
Improved living standards will come from higher wages, lower prices for goods and services,
and an overall greater variety of goods and services. Labour productivity growth, measured as
output per hour, causes these things [14].

8.3 Health and safety impact

• Robots can help minimize the risk of falls for traditional workers. Robot machines can reach
objects too high for employees. It can reduce or even eliminate the need for workers to
operate lifting equipment.
• Robotics contributes to a decrease in workplace accidents in manufacturing. Robots with
exoskeletons can help workers avoid repetitive motion activities, which frequently cause
musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs).

23
 • Employing robotics can also lessen the requirement for staff to lift and transport big goods.
Employee back injuries are less likely as a result, and companies spend less on health
insurance and work-related ailments.
• Robots can work long hours without breaks. Unlike humans, robot performance does not
degrade over time [15].

8.4 Environment impact

• It has been demonstrated that automating trash treatment and recycling lowers carbon
emissions by enabling more materials to be recovered and reused. Sorting robots scan,
recognize, and classify recyclable materials using AI technology. Before the invention of
sorting robots, workers performed the recycling process manually. Manual garbage sorting,
however, was intrinsically ineffective. Workers found it difficult to distinguish recyclable
goods from the hundreds of products being moved by conveyor belts. The sorting robot
operates at a high rate of speed, and its AI technology quickly analyzes several things to
identify recyclables and notify you of them.
• Robots can not only sort garbage, but also help avoid it in the first place. Industrial robots use
programming, robot vision systems, and force sensors to carry out tasks with extraordinary
accuracy and precision. Human error is the primary cause of material waste in manufacturing.
Automating production processes with robots removes or significantly lowers the need for
human interaction, preventing mistakes.
• The main benefit of using industrial robots is that they can help to streamline manufacturing
processes. Reduced energy usage is one advantage of production optimization. Six-axis robots
outperform human labour in terms of speed and productivity. The same workload that would
need two to four workers can be handled by a robot. As a result, it takes less time, uses fewer
resources, and uses less energy to produce items. Robots can also tolerate situations that
humans cannot. B. Dim lights or hot or chilly. You can reduce the number of consumables used
in the plant and lower the amount of electricity used for manufacture [16].

8.5 Legal impact

• Adopt a uniform set of rules to allow testing outside the laboratory and in human settings, set
clear standards especially about safety, insurance, and control of experiments, and limit the
discretion of local governments. is needed.
• Using robotics to overcome human limitations can be problematic due to the lack of clear
texts, rules and standards that help identify what manipulations of the human body should be
permitted. There is a nature. The constitutional principles of human dignity, equality, and

24
 freedom of self-determination, as understood in today's broader bioethical debate, are not
sufficient in themselves and require narrower standards to be applied.
• According to Resolution, the concept is purely functional and some devices, dematerialized It
aims to facilitate the registration, insurance, and management of registered AI.
• Privacy cannot be granted by informed consent alone. Consent is rarely truly communicated
and your ability to opt out is limited if you want to use a service or device that requires the
collection of personal information [17].

8.6 OSH ACT

To keep every employee safe, it is essential to follow the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The
purpose of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is [18]:

• Ensure the health and safety of people while they are at work and while using machinery and
other plant-based equipment.
• Make provisions for the protection of people who aren't working against risks to their health
and safety that result from or are related to the actions of people who are working.
• Create an advisory committee for occupational health and safety to address issues related to
it.

OSHA's Technical Handbook classifies four categories of accidents that can occur when operating
industrial robots [18]:

• Unexpected movements, component malfunctions, or unexpected program changes

associated with robot arms and peripherals can result in impact or collision accidents.
• A worker is trapped or entangled by a limb or other body part caught between a robot arm
and other peripherals, or a person is physically driven into other peripherals. or crushed
accidents may occur.
• Accidents involving mechanical parts resulting from failure of robot drive components, tools
or end effectors, peripheral equipment, or power supplies are considered mechanical
accidents. This includes removal of parts, failure of gripping mechanisms, or failure of end
effector power tools.
• Accidents can also be caused by high voltage line leaks, arcing, metal splatter, dust,
electromagnetic or radio frequency interference.

25
 CHAPTER 9 Project Assessment
S. A. Khan, T. Z. Anika, and N. Sultana developed a colour sorting robotic arm. The similarity between
the colour sorting robotic arm the proposed project is the ultrasonic sensor is used in both projects, 4
degree of freedom robot arm is used and the Arduino mage. The colour sorting robotic arm was
automatic controlled, and the proposed project will be automatic controlled. The difference between
these two projects are, the TCS230 colour sensor used in colour sorting robotic arm to detect the
colour of the object. Ultrasonic sensor is maintaining the same position which means the is the place
to put an object the ultrasonic sensor will detect it while in the proposed project the ultrasonic sensor
will scan the object in different place. The colour sorting robotic arm was programmed using Arduino
Idle while the proposed project will used MATLAB.

R. Manikanta, O.S.D. Akhilesh, and E. Rakesh developed a pick and place robot arm. The similarity
between the pick and place robot arm and proposed project is the Arduino mage and MATLAB was
used to program the pick and place robot arm and will be used in this project. The difference between
these two projects are, the pick and place robot arm is manual control, and the proposed project will
be automatically controlled. The pick and place robot arm is the 2 degrees of freedom while the
proposed project will be 4 degrees of freedom.

26
 CHAPTER 10 CONCLUSION
The proposal propose automatic pick and place robot arm project that will scan the object in
workplace and pick the detect object and place it in desired place. The final position of the object will
be announced in audio. The components that will be used in this proposed project is discussed and
explain how it will be used. The specification of the project is discussed and the papers that will help
in designing this project. The plan time or estimated time it will take to complete the project is
discussed. The estimated cost of material that will be used is discussed. The proposed project may be
change or modify.

27
 CHAPTER 11 References Description
[1]: This reference was used to help and understand the background information about the robot arm
and the important of the robot arm.

[2]: This reference was used to help about the reason for implementing the robot arm and the first
person who invent it.

[3,4,5]: These references were used to help and understand how some of the components are used in
developing project that are similar or have similarity with this project and the names of those projects
are: colour sorting robotic arm, pick and place robotic arm, and Joystick controlled industrial robotic
system with robotic arm. These projects will help a lot to choose suitable components that will be
used in this project and how to use it correctly.

[6]: This reference was used to help and understand the different type of robot arm and how they
differ from each other as some have 2, 3 or more degree of freedom. This reference will be help full
where it come to program the robot arm.

[7]: This reference was used to help and understand what the servo motor is and how to use it and
how it controlled or operate. It will help when programming the servo motor since the is information
of it.

[8]: This reference was used to help and understand what the Arduino is and how to use it and how is
controlling different components.

[9]: This reference was used to help and understand what the ultrasonic sensor is and how to use it
and how it controlled or operate. It will be useful where it come to program the ultrasonic sensor.

[10]: This reference was used to help and understand what the MATLAB is and how to use it and how
it operate as it will be used in this project. This reference will be useful where program the project as
some of the codes are available in this site and it give basic codes or information of using MATLAB.

[11,12,13]: These references will be help fully where it come to finding an alternative method or
solution of this project.

[14,15,16,17]: These references were used to help and understand the impact of robot arm in social,
economic, legal, health, safety, and environmental.

[18]: This reference was used to help and understand the OSH ACT of the robot arm.

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 CHAPTER 12 References

[1] R.Manikanta, 19 May 2018. [Online]. Available: https://cobotintel.com/collaborative-robot-

arm/why-robot-arm-invented-how-its-used-usa/. [Accessed 04 August 2022].

[2] M. R. Nichols, 09 February 2019. [Online]. Available:

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/why-was-the-robotic-arm-invented. [Accessed
04 August 2022].

[3] S. A. Khan, 21 February 2019. [Online]. Available:

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8644167. [Accessed 04 August 2022].

[4] C. Babu, 07 July 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.irjet.net/archives/V4/i7/IRJET-

V4I7412.pdf. [Accessed 04 August 2022].

[5] R. Rahman, November 2019. [Online]. Available:

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9087500. [Accessed 20 August
2022].

[6] J. FLYNT, 2 July 2019. [Online]. Available: https://3dinsider.com/what-are-robotic-arms/.

[Accessed 06 August 2022].

[7] J. Sabhadiya, 1 September 2021. [Online]. Available:

https://www.engineeringchoice.com/servo-motor/. [Accessed 06 August 2022].

[8] K. Chandra, 30 November 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.elprocus.com/arduino-mega-

2560-board/. [Accessed 06 August 2022].

[9] T. YoungWonks, 23 Decamber 2021. [Online]. Available:

https://www.youngwonks.com/blog/What-is-an-ultrasonic-
sensor#:~:text=An%20ultrasonic%20sensor%20is%20an%20electronic%20device%20that,turn
%20send%20back%20information%20about%20an%20object%E2%80%99s%20proximity..
[Accessed 06 August 2022].

[10] MathWorks, 17 March 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.mathworks.com/hardware-

support/arduino-
matlab.html#:~:text=With%20MATLAB%C2%AE%20Support%20Package,with%20digital%20an
d%20PWM%20outputs. [Accessed 19 August 2022].

[11] G. Hamilton, 17 June 2016. [Online]. Available: https://za.rs-

online.com/web/p/microcontroller-development-tools/8224052. [Accessed 20 August 2022].

[12] F. Hossain, 17 March 2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.waveshare.com/esp32-

cam.htm#:~:text=The%20ESP32%2DCAM%20is%20a,QR%20identification%2C%20and%20so%2
0on.. [Accessed 20 August 2022].

[13] Coursera, 10 August 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.coursera.org/articles/what-is-

python-used-for-a-beginners-guide-to-using-python. [Accessed 20 August 2022].

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[14] S. Ahmed, 10 December 2019. [Online]. Available:
https://cberuk.com/cdn/conference_proceedings/2020-01-05-10-10-55-AM.pdf. [Accessed 22
August 2022].

[15] G. Gould, 05 November 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-

insights/the-impact-of-robotics-on-safety-and-
health#:~:text=Robotics%20provide%20a%20number%20of%20opportunities%20to%20improv
e,ca. [Accessed 22 August 2022].

[16] Z. Robinson, 23 May 2018. [Online]. Available: https://robotsdoneright.com/Articles/how-

robots-are-good-for-the-environment.html. [Accessed 22 August 2022].

[17] A. Bertolini, 06 April 2017. [Online]. Available: https://robohub.org/the-legal-issues-of-

robotics/. [Accessed 22 August 2022].

[18] Honeywell, 19 November 2019. [Online]. Available:

https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2019/11/19/The-Robots-are-Here-How-Do-We-Work-Safely-
with-Them.aspx?Page=1. [Accessed 22 August 2022].

[19] 29 November 2019. [Online]. Available:

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9087500. [Accessed 20 August
2022].

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