The VLAD (Vehicular Laboratory Autonomous Device) is a system that aims to automate laboratory workflows, eliminating the need for constant human intervention and saving valuable time. The goal of this report is to provide a detailed description of the design, assembly, and testing of the VLAD system.
The project was the brainchild of Professor Keith Brown, who needed an efficient and flexible laboratory automation system for his own Laboratory. Professor Brown runs the KABlab, which designs and tests hierarchically structured soft materials. Part of their research is about developing testing systems to be able to systematically and autonomously analyze various material properties of developed structures and materials. However, current testing systems lack modularity and would be challenging to adapt to different laboratory spaces or different experiments. The VLAD aims to help tackle this, by allowing for spacial flexibility in setting up autonomous experimental systems.
GitHub Project ReportAssignment objective was to design a robot that has 2.5 degrees of freedom. As a team, we decided to create a chessboard that enabled a user to play chess against a computer on a physical board rather than using an application. The basic functionality of the chessboard is by using stepper motors and a belt to move the end effector in the X and Y directions. The end effector is a rack and pinion system that holds a magnet, which enables the end effector to attract a chess piece when extended. All the chess pieces are inserted with an iron screw, which enables the magnet on the end effector to attract the chess pieces only when the rack and pinion system is extended. This is the basic structure of the autonomous chessboard. More information on the design and code can be found below. Moreover, links to the portfolios of my teammates can be found at the end of this section.
GitHub Project Page