Arm Requirements (2021-2022)

Requirements on this page were initially written in 2021 Requirements, but will be further refined on this page.

For those of you who aren't aware with the constraints and criteria requirements method, constrains are limitations to the design that must be met in order for it to operate (generally are quantifiable). Criteria are a list of things the design should have to be successful

Robotic Arm CC's

Constraints	Criteria
The rover must possess a robotic arm capable of performing dexterous operations. List of items that the rover should be prepared to interact with are specified in End Effector Research	Use O-drive motor controllers on arm (Mechanical to look into cooling solutions)
Robotic arm end effector must be capable of tightening a hex socket head screw (hex head size has very slightly changed in the past between competitions, with a 5/16" in 2021 and an 8mm in 2019) (Screwdrivers may be built into the rover or the rover may use its end effector to pick up screwdriver tools provided at comp)	Use BLDC motors on entirety of arm
Robotic arm must possess X degrees of freedom (This value will either be 5 or 6, but more research/testing has to be done to figure out this value) (Software mentioned having 6 DoF might open up their programming space for IK)	Arm joints should mechanically support space to use two encoders per joint (one on motor, one on joint)
Arm's reach must be capable of picking items up off the ground that the rover is driving on	Arm should have integrated pathing to route wires with more organization
Arm must have a minimum lifting capacity of 5kg, but 10kg designed lifting capacity	End effector should use a ball head allen key
Arm must be capable of grabbing and towing a 15mm dia. rope attached to 5kg weight	Try to use zero servos on the arm to eliminate need for arm PCB
End effector must be able to grasp objects with a 5cm dia. at a minimum	Arm should be __ backdriveable (TBD)
End effector must have a minimum precision of 4mm (<half keyboard key)	Arm should have easily accessible features to facilitate cable routing
Arm must have one camera to provide end effector footage for operator	Arm linkages should have simplified connections to make it easy to separate links for independent testing
Center of mass of arm must be aligned in a manner: At full extension, rover does not tip and all four wheels stay in direct contact with the ground When driving up a 45 degree incline, the rover will not tip over in a specified arm configuration (arm can be retracted when driving to avoid CoM issues) (This will be easier to quantify once the drivetrain/chassis has been established)
Weight of the arm must be minimized while maintaining structural integrity (SF of 2* for peak loads on points of failure) (Note: SF of 2 is a very broad engineering guess without prior research. This may be subject to change)
Arm must be modularly mounted onto the chassis