Design and Construction of a GSM-Controlled Pick and Place Robot

The modern manufacturing environment is dynamic and uncertain. In line with the global trend in manufacturing, this project is carried out to explore into the potentials of robots in manufacturing, service industry, and domestic use. The robot was designed and constructed to incorporate the use of mobile phones as control mechanism via dual-tone-multiple frequency (DTMF). Various components such as the Gripper, Gears, Chains, and Control system were designed with good factor of safety; with factors such as vibration, inertia concerns, availability, and reliability taken into consideration. MATLAB software was used extensively in the design, simulation and testing. The Root-locus, Disturbance response, and Polar plots of the control system transfer function were plotted using MATLAB. The results obtained showed good performance characteristics; such as stability of the control system, good damping characteristics, and excellent time response to step and impulse inputs.