An industrial robot, also referred as a robotic arm, is a mechanical device that is often programmed to autonomously perform tasks. Some of these tasks include welding, painting, performing surgical tasks, or manufacturing. Robotic arms have become a proactive development because they reduce the cost of labor, provide more efficient laborious results, and, most importantly, perform tasks in environments not suitable for humans.
One of the most notable robotic arms that has been developed is the Canadarm. Canadarm successfully lived in space for approximately 30 years, “captur[ing] and repair[ing] satellites, position[ing] astronauts, maintain[ing] equipment, and mov[ing] cargo,” (Doetsch). Inspired by this development, our team would like to develop an autonomous articulated robotic arm that will be capable of sorting and organizing arbitrary objects based on their characteristics. Currently, many robotic arms are still operated by human intervention. Unlike the Canadarm and similar industrial robots, our product is aimed to be fully autonomous and have the capability of distinguishing objects based on its color and differentiate between radiating and non-radiating objects with the assistance of cameras and thermal sensors.

A robotic arm with such qualities has yet to be developed. We hope that our finalized, successful prototype will encourage further research and development that will enable robotic arms, such as ours, to travel in dangerous or hazardous environments for human beings, such as deep sea projects or trips to mars. During its mission, the arm will report important features of its findings. The possibility of determining human life may be increased by its ability to determine whether the object obtained radiates heat. Furthermore, its color organizing feature will allow for a more precise distinction between the objects and assist with identifying the object. These features combined will allow for more knowledge to be obtained from such indigenous environments.

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This robotic arm can possibly inspire future research on robots that will carry on the tasks of humans when human interaction is not possible or safe. Apart from others learning from this project, the researchers for this project will also gain valuable knowledge that will be applicable in many situations or even careers. As a team, we hope to learn more than we could imagine and prosper academically.