Capstone Information Jennifer A. Malone

For our capstone project we chose to do is a Bluetooth controlled robotic arm that has a

programmable mobile base attached. The base will be controlled by an inferred remote control. Both

units will be powered by DC batteries. The base unit’s movement and behavior will be controlled with a

set of momentary switches (inferred), and a brain that uses optical sensors that are programmable by

the use and manipulation of bits (Programmable logic Controller). The brain will be located on the base

unit and is an embedded system all its own. The base will not come preassembled though it will come as

a kit there will be no soldering necessary.

At the beginning of our project, the original objective was to have a robotic arm that could be

controlled by a cell phone using a free app while it is being moved by a mobile base. The first base we

tried had eight legs and resembled a scorpion. Our back-up plan, if the legs did not work out, was to

purchase a tank chassis to replace it. One of the difficulties we encountered was that of the coding.

There were many ways the arm could by programmed, so creating a suitable sketch proved to be the

best way to go. With time and heavy research the problem was resolved and we could move forward.