- The photos above are screenshots from our arduino programming application.

The text
written in gray that follows two forward slashes are comments, used to explain the
function of code that was written above.
 1) Challenge

- Our challenge was to build a robotic arm that was able to function as a crane. The arm
needed to have three servo motors that moved in the the x, y and z planes as well as a
motor to function as a clamp to pick up objects. The motors were controlled by an
arduino which we programmed in order to move the servos based on the rotation of four
potentiometers which measure voltage and send a signal back to the arduino and finally
the motors.

2) Approach
- My partner and I decided to split up the tasks, one was going to build the physical crane
out of popsicle sticks, hot glue, and tape, while the other designed the hardware for the
arduino and began to write the code. On the first day we were able to complete the
hardware and establish a basis for the code and the arm. Unfortunately, Evan had to
leave school on the second day of work so he was unable to help. I was able to work
extremely hard and manage to complete and compile the code and finish the design of
the arm.
4.) Building
- There were two components that had to be built for this project. The first was the
arduino. It had to have four potentiometers which sent signals back to the arduino in the
form of an analog signal in order to tell the servo motors how far to rotate. The arduino
board was also used to power the motors, which received information from the board via
the digital ports and pulse width modulation. The second part of the build was the arm
itself. We first ensured that we had a sturdy base made of popsicle sticks which were
connected to each other using hot glue. After the base, the arm was built mostly from
popsicle sticks that had been broken in half in order to keep the arm short and ensure it
doesn’t tip over during its activities.
5.) Issues during building/programming
- Initially, our code didn’t function properly due to an incorrect wiring layout. We had
accidentally plugged a powered wire into the wrong power rail. This can result in a
shorting of the board, so it was imperative that we resolved this issue quickly. Another
issue we had was the claw not being stable enough on the end of the arm. Our code
was relatively flawless other than the occasional lack of a semicolon and a few other
minor errors that were resolved fairly quickly. Other than these, we had no other
problems.

6.) How we resolved these issued

It took us a little while to find the wiring issue, but once it was located it was promptly fixed.
Luckily, our board did not short and we could keep working. All we did to stabilize the claw was
add more hot glue to keep it in place.

7) Summary of synthesizing all the parts of this project together (building, programming,
designing)
The arm was controlled via the user turning the potentiometer. From there, an analog signal
was sent to the arduino board and via PWM the signals were read and transmitted to the servo
motors in order to control the arm. In order to transmit the potentiometer signals, the code had
to incorporate a mapping element. The map function uses five values, the value to be mapped,
the low range and the high vales of the input data and the low and high ranges for that data to
be remapped to. Again, from here the signals telling the servos how much to rotate were sent to
the arduino board and ended up at the servos.

8.) Reflection
This project showed us how basic skills when used together can create something entirely new.
We feel as though this project was a good way for us to synthesize our skills and apply the
things we’ve learned into one project. From creating the arduino and code to building the arm,
we had to utilize skills that we’d been developing all semester. The challenge was enjoyable
and the coding was reasonable, allowing us to have a successful product within a few days. I
would’ve liked the actually test our designs or maybe have some sort of competition, but since
all of our products were essentially the exact same thing I understand how that wouldn’t have
made much sense. My partner and I built the crane before we wrote the code. The construction
process was relatively simple, as the only challenge was making sure that the crane was stable
enough to function. The coding was more difficult, but it was still fairly easy. We basically only
had to duplicate previous code and synthesize it into one unit. Overall, it was a good experience
and laid the groundwork for future projects.