Biotronic Amplifier
@ May 3, 2011
It extends a humans reach and amplifies their gripping strength
Cost to build:
$100
Time to build:
40 hours
- Actuators / output devices: Geared 12VDC motor
- Control method: microcontroller and an H-bridge circuit, Closed loop control using potentiometers
- CPU: PIC16C71
- Power source: 9VDC battery for microcontroller and 12VDC battery pack for H-bridge and motor
- Programming language: Picbasic Pro
- Sensors / input devices: Potentiometer position sensors, Analog to digital converters
- Target environment: outdoor, indoor
The biotronic amplifier is a robotic reach extending device that can be used to handle hazardous materials or pick up objects that are out of reach. The operator uses a trigger to open and close the gripper. The positions of the trigger and the motor are determined using potentiometers and analog to digital converters. The A-to-D converters are located on the PIC 16C71. The gripper motor is controlled with an H-bridge made up of two TIP41C NPN and two TIP42C PNP power transistors. The gripper has a 5-inch wide grasp. I designed and built the biotronic amplifier in 2001. It sees a lot of use at the local makerspace mostly for entertainment.
@ Tue, 2011-05-03 12:26
Very nice! A bit of rubber
Very nice! A bit of rubber at the grippers would help picking up small stuff like pencils, I guess.
@ Tue, 2011-05-03 12:11
Looks good but where is the
Looks good but where is the "bio"?
I only see "tronic".
@ Tue, 2011-05-03 12:30
Taking a wild guess!!
First of all. Very nice grabber design.
Just a wild guess:
The bio-part is Karl??? Or whoever manipulates the Amplifier!
@ Tue, 2011-05-03 12:35
He should have a pressure
He should have a pressure sensor controlling a high voltage generator so that you get a small electric shock equivalent to how much pressure is being applied. That would be a form of bio-feedback.
@ Tue, 2011-05-03 07:09