Roboshow

Design Task
The task is to design and build a portable industrial robot research station featuring a Denso Robotic Arm. The completed design should include a mobile platform for the robot arm, including a transparent safety enclosure, an installed and tested teaching pendent and controller software, and a manufactured end-effector for use in a demonstration of the robot’s capabilities

Sponsors
The University of Idaho, Departments of Mechanical, Electrical and Computer Engineering are sponsoring our project. This senior design project is being funded by these departments at UI. The robotic workstations will have future use for research and other applications within the departments.

Background
In the spring of 2013, The Boeing Company donated multiple Denso robot arms to the College of Engineering of the University of Idaho. These lightweight, compact robots are designed for a wide-range of industrial and manufacturing applications. A description of Denso’s VS-G series can be found here: http://www.densorobotics.com/products/vs-g-series/features. The Mechanical Engineering department is currently exploring ways in which to incorporate these robots in the curriculum and to make them available for academic and sponsored research. During the first stage of this process, the Mechanical Engineering department is looking to grow its institutional knowledge through the development of a mobile robotic research station.

Team Experience
 Our Team 

Design Goals
Design a safety enclosure that conforms to industrial best practices and applicable standards and demonstrates relevant academic and research activities during high visibility university events.

Future Goals
The construction the Denso robot enclosure will have a lasting influence on the engineering department. The robot can be used for applied coursework in undergraduate classes such as Robotic Kinematics and Control Systems. The workstation will also be used as a graduate research platform. The graduate researchers could use the hardware in numerous applications ranging from control systems to industrial applications.

The station will also become a main destination for tours of perspective students, visiting faculty and on special events such as Vandal Friday or Expo. The demonstrations from the robots will showcase the arm’s abilities as well as generate excitement about engineering and encourage students to enroll in the engineering department.