Robotics · CNC machining
Cove
A seven-degree-of-freedom robotic arm with a three-foot reach, built by a student robotics club to make advanced robotic systems more interactive and accessible.
- Role
- Arm-design team member · Mechanical assembly · CNC milling
Cove is a seven-degree-of-freedom robotic arm with an approximately three-foot reach. It was developed by a student robotics club to make advanced robotic systems more interactive and accessible. The long-term concept is inspired by traversing robotic manipulators such as the arm aboard the International Space Station, although traversing has not yet been implemented.
Design. The full arm in CAD, from the base plate to the end of the arm.
The mechanism uses high-power actuators. As a member of the arm-design team, I contributed to the mechanical assembly and CNC-milled structural components from aluminum. The central engineering challenge was carrying the substantial static and dynamic loads generated by a long, heavy arm moving through space: the structure and joints had to stay robust under those loads while preserving useful movement and a coherent mechanical architecture.
CAD
Fabrication. Aluminum joint brackets, CNC-milled.
Joint brackets
In motion. The assembled arm moving on a workbench.
Cove was demonstrated publicly through an autonomous sequence in which the arm prepared and served matcha at a demo day.